Brave and The Bold Part 2
by balletangel19
Summary: Green Lantern and Flash are transported to a waste land and their friendship is tested. Older story revised.
1. What a Nuisance

**Brave and The Bold Part 2**

 **This story takes place right after the episode "The Brave and The Bold." They never really showed how Flash and John's friendship developed and I wanted to cover that.**

 **P.S. This is strictly a buddy-buddy, brotherly pairing only. No slashes!**

 **Chapter 1- What a Nuisance**

"No no! Pull up! Pull up!" shouts John Stewart the Green Lantern as a reckless Flash speeds the Javelin 7 towards a skyscraper. Confused and aggravated by John's nagging orders, Flash pulls up, but more towards the left, and comes just inches of clipping the skyscraper with the ship's wing.

Every member of the just Justice League, with the exception of Batman, have been taking turns trying to teach Flash how to fly the Javelin 7. The lessons haven't been going to well, and each member is grateful to get out with their lives after each lesson. Today, it is John's turn on the unfortunate job. This is Flash's tenth flying lesson, and while Flash is having fun with his reckless flying, his comrades are considering the whole thing hopeless and calling it quits.

"See, you had nothing to worry about'" grins a rather proud Flash.

"Are you kidding me?" replies a ticked off John, "Move back. I'm taking the controls."

"No way!" Flash disagrees, "I'm having too much fun. Now, how do you speed this thing up again?"

Flash reaches for a button. "Flash! Don't!" Too late, Flash presses a button that spins the ship around hectically, and the ship starts to spin out of control. Fortunately, John is able to retain enough focus to take the controls. Once the ship is right side up again, Flash has one hand over his mouth and one on his stomach, looking a little green.

"I think maybe that's enough fun for right now."

"Oh really?"

John flies the ship back to the Watchtower. After landing the ship in the Javelin bay, Flash has recovered and his goofy attitude returns.

"No that wasn't so bad."

John bangs his head on the control panel, "You've got to be kidding."

Later, that afternoon, John is in the observation chair taking his turn on watch. Actually, he's pretty much doing watch all by himself, sense his partner tends to slack on his duties. He's on monitor duty with the Flash, a.k.a Wally West (though John doesn't know his real name.) John would rather be on duty with 'anybody' other than Flash.

Flash enters the interior deck with his boom box, dancing and singing loudly (and badly), to Snoop Dogg. John cover his ears and yells down from the Observation deck, "Turn that racket down!"

Flash looks up at John, "Hah? What did you say?"

John activates his ring, flies down, and turns off the boom box.

"Hey!" yells Flash, "I was listening to that."

John gives a Batman-like glare at him. "I said, TURN THAT RACKET DOWN! How can you even listen to that garbage?"

Flash is offended, "It's not garbage! It's Snoop Dogg's first album, 'Doggystyle', a real classic, dude." Flash give the thumbs up.

John shakes his head and rolls his eyes, "Classic indeed. How can you even like somebody like Snoop Dogg?"

"I didn't say I liked Snoop Dogg," defenses Flash, "I just like his music."

"Same thing," argues John.

"Is not!"

John shakes his head again, "I don't have time for this. Go someplace where I can't hear that, music."

Flash gives a mock bow, "Yes your highness."

John's face turns red and Flash zooms away.

Green Lantern and the Flash almost never do anything else besides bicker. John doesn't understand why Flash is even in the Justice League. The young, well-meaning; but extremely amateur scarlet speedster is so brash, cocky, flamboyant, implosive, undisciplined, and childish amount other things. Flash would much rather stuff his face and goof around making bad jokes all the time then be serious about anything, except trying to impress the ladies. He's a lot better at getting himself and the league "into" trouble then getting them out. He almost never uses his head and doesn't have the slightest understanding of duty, at least by John's standard. He loves being a hero and "just loves" the attention he gets with it.

Still, John did have his moments when was fond of the "kid". Like when Flash totally ignored appropriate procedures and put his life on the line to defend John at his trail a few months ago. When he stood up for Wonder Woman being banished from Themyscira (John wasn't present for that, but heard about it later). Then just a few days ago when Flash "outsmarted" (sort of) evil genius Gorilla Grodd, that is only after Flash got them into whirlwinds of trouble. John doesn't understand Flash's never ending optimism and why he can't just accept things the way they are and deal with them, although it is a trait that has helped the league out on occasion.

Flash, on the other hand, thinks that the Green Lantern is stuffy, strict, bossy, insensitive, inflexible, and "WAY" to serious. John likes to plan everything down to the very, very last detail and go strictly by the book, while Flash loves to ditch plans and just go with the flow. Flash thinks that John really should loosen up, laugh, and have fun once in a while, not to mention be more sensitive and friendly to others. John really needs to work on his people skills as well. Despite these traits, Wally also has a lot of respect and fondness for John and really looks up to him. Wally sees John as somewhat of a mentor, as well as somebody who really needs a friend, and believes there's an inner child within him that's just screaming to get out.

Flash returns a little while later, this time on the observation deck behind John. Flash is eating something from a cardboard snack carton and drinking a Pepsi. Johns doesn't know that he's behind him.

Flash creeps up and yells into John's ear, "What'cha doing GL?"

"AWW!" screams a startled John. He jumps up and shots Flash an angry glare, "Don't ever do that again!"

"Aw lighten up GL," says Flash, grinning; "Can't a guy a have a little fun?"

"We're on monitor duty," John sternly reminds Flash.

"Yea and it's boring." Flash turns his attention back to his food.

John's eyes widen, "Flash! What are you eating?"

Flash licks his lips, belches, and then shows John the contents of the carton. "Sour cream and onion pringles with ketch-up. Want some?"

John gets a disgusted look on his face, "NO thank you."

Flash then offers John an unopened can of Pepsi, "How about a soda?"

John shakes his head, "I'm on a diet."

Flash zooms off and returns before John can blink with a diet Pepsi, "Here you go."

That wasn't exactly what John had in mind, but he accepts the diet soda. One thing about Flash is that it's hard to stay mad at him for long, even for John, although it aggravates the stew out of him.

"Would you like to watch some movies, buddy?" asks Flash, "They're doing a marathon of The Twilight Saga with no commercials."

John is startled. This isn't the first time Flash has called him buddy. While John has some respect for Flash as comrade, he doesn't really see him as a friend or anything. "No thank you. You watch way too many movies anyway."

"Ah come on GL," begs Flash, "You and the other guys 'NEVER' have any fun. All you ever do is work. Too much work isn't good for you, you know, especially boring work like monitor duty."

Flash's statement did sort of make sense; much to John's surprise, but now isn't the time to play. "Later Flash. I'm on duty and I can't leave my post. You are too, might I remind you.

Flash sags like a child, "John Stewart, you need to get a life."

Flash zooms off again. John rolls his eyes and looks back at the Earth. As much as he tries to push it out of his mind, Flash was right. John didn't have a life. After more than ten years as a Green Lantern in deep space proceeded by four years in the Marines, John feels so far removed from humanity. He really doesn't feel he even belongs among them anymore.

Unlike John, Flash is right at home among the people of society, especially in his home of Central City. He is out and about mingling with the citizens constantly, and really connects with them. The ladies aren't usually charmed by his sometimes super ego and his reputation as a slip-up and goof ball is well known, but the public generally likes the speedster, especially children.

While John won't admit it, that's one quality of the Flash's he really envies.

A little while later, Flash reappears on the deck with a plate of raisons and an apple. "Hey GL. I'm raiding what's left in the kitchen and thought you might like a snack before I eat it all." (J'onn is supposed to return to the tower later to restock with kitchen.) He rest the plate next to the observation chair, "I'll be in the kitchen if you need me."

John stares at Flash as he leaves. He doesn't understand it. He always yells at Flash, yet the kid continues to be nice to him. While Flash might be trying to bond with John, the serious and hard-noise Green Lantern just doesn't see how he could ever really be friends with the laid-back and childish Scarlet Speedster.


	2. No Time For Play

**Chapter 2-No Time for Play**

Around 8:00 PM eastern time, 6:00 PM central time, Batman calls the Watchtower and tells Lantern that he and Flash are needed in Gotham City. It is very rare indeed that Batman would call for outside help for his home turf, but with the rest of the Bat family and League occupied elsewhere and Batman himself tied up with several cases, someone needs to keep watch over the largest diamond store in the city. Following a pattern of a mysterious theft who's recently been striking in Gotham, Batman predicts that the diamond store will be his next target, and he's due to strike tonight.

After wrestling Flash away from the Twilight Saga (at the start of New Moon), John and Flash are planted on a rooftop overlooking the diamond store. After more than an hour on the rooftop, Flash is beyond restless. For Flash, steak outs are about as bad as monitor duty, especially when you have somebody like the Green Lantern on your back and sternly ordering you to stay put, not to mention putting up a green barrier every time you try to get away. Flash doesn't understand why he can't take breaks every now and then when nothing is happening. Not like he won't be there in a second if anything happens.

While John the proud solider looks through the binoculars focusing all his attention on the site, Flash stands slumped over on the railing, playing with a rubber band he found. He keeps an eye out for any pretty ladies who might pass buy, but hardly anybody people are on this street at all. Aside from the occasional car or pedestrian, there isn't anything of much interest on this street. Most of the surrounding buildings are either daytime shops or offices. The only food places in sight are lunch dailies and a bakery that are already closed, much to the dismay of the always hungry Flash.

This definitely isn't the "fun" section of town.

Flash looks over at John, who looks like he's all business. Fiddling with his rubber band, Flash gets an idea to lighten the mood. He shots the rubber band at John, hitting him on the back of the head.

"AWWWW!" John turns and aims his ring, ready for attack.

Flash waves his hands up in defense, "Whoa GL! It's just me."

John shots a very angry look, "DON'T DO THAT!"

"Alright, alright," responses Flash, "You don't have to yell. Just trying to have a little fun is all."

"Flash," says John sternly, "We're not here to have fun. We're here to do a job. Is that clear?"

Flash salutes, "Yes Sargent Stewart."

John ignores Flash and looks back at the building. Flash huffs and leans back on the railing. He stares at the dark, silent store in front of them. He is so bored he's starting to feel sleeping, not to mention hungry. It's been nearly three hours since he's eaten and it's past his usual dinner time. For a speedster with a hyper-accelerated metabolism far beyond any normal person, especially being dinner time, 3 hours without food is just "WAY" to long!

"Steak out," grumbles Flash, "I'd much rather have about a dozen steak 'ins', in me that is."

"Hush," replies John.

Flash keeps quite for a few seconds until his stomach growls again.

"Hey GL, I'm going to grab some food. You want anything?"

John shoots a disapproving look, "No you're not. You're staying right here!"

"Make me."

Flash takes off down the side of the building. John's ring, however, is as fast as him. As soon as Flash is on the ground, a green walls appears in front of him that he runs into. John then brings him back up.

"HEY! What did you do that for?"

John looks like he's fuming, "We are on duty! We are on steak out! You know what that means? It means we stay on high alert and we don't leave our posts for 'ANY' reason."

"Not even to eat!" asks Flash, disappointed.

"Not even to eat."

"Not even to use the restroom?"

"That's enough!"

Flash keeps pressing, "There's a chain of fast food places..."

"NO!"

"I'll be back in..."

"I said NO!"

"...a couple minutes."

"Flash!" John stomps his foot, "Remember what Batman said? This guy's supposed to strike tonight. He could appear at 'ANY' time. We can't leave our post for even a blink of any eye. That's all it takes for things to go wrong."

"Yea yea I've heard it all before," Flash brushes it off, "You know if I don't eat I won't have the energy to..."

"If you mention one more word about your stomach," snaps John, "I'll personally see to it that you are limited to crowd control."

Flash's eyes widen, "HEY! That's not fair!"

John doesn't respond. Flash huffs and slumps onto the railing again. He rubs his stomach to calm down the hunger pangs. As much as he wants to complain, he realizes that John means business and keeps his mouth shut. It's not like he hasn't gotten used to these threats. Flash knows that he acts a bit immature and more like a goof ball then he should, but it's who he is, and he'll get serious enough when the time is right (sometimes). He does feel that his teammates, especially John, under appreciate him a bit.

A few minutes later, they hear an alarm go off. It's not the diamond store, but the bank down the street. They rush down there. Someone is moving inside with a dim light. John tells Flash to enter and cut him off through the back door. They storm in only to find it was the night guard.

"Ah man," says Flash in disappointment, "It's only the night watchman." A closer look reveals that the night watch 'man' is a woman, a pretty woman. "Oh, sorry lady. What I meant was..."

"That's alright," says the night guard, "I'm sorry gentlemen. I was checking the wiring for our security system and I accidently set if off. I'm new here and still learning."

John relaxes a little, "Sorry miss. We thought there was break-in. We'll leave you to your duty."

The guard nods her head, "Thanks gentlemen. It's good to know that the Justice League is on high alert."

John turns to leave, but Flash isn't so eager to go. He swops next to the guard and starts flirting, "So, it must be pretty lonely in here, huh?"

"It's alright," she answers.

"Would you like some company? If anyone strikes here tonight, you can bet the fastest man alive is here to..."

"FLASH!"

Back on the roof, a bummed out Flash occupies his time fantasying about fatty foods and sweets, rubbing and hugging his stomach, smiling sheepishly at John's glares, and thinking about that lady night guard John drug him away from. To make matters worse, Flash is now feeling the urge to answer the call of nature, but John again remains him of their duty and of staying at their post. Trying to ignore his hunger and urges, Flash decides to try and get on John's good side and act interested in the case.

"So GL, who exactly are we looking out for again?"

John answers in a calmer but still serious tone, "Batman said his name is Chester P. Runk, known as the Chunk. He's a very big guy who appears and disappears in an instant, and objects he takes just disappear along with him, into thin air. Our task is to catch him in action and bring him down."

Flash laughs, "Chunk? Now that's a goofy name. Well nobody can be any bigger than Grodd. After all, we, or rather I," he points proudly to himself, "made Grodd cry 'uncle'. This guy should be no problem."

John shakes his head, "You sure do know how to really underestimate the situation Flash. I don't even understand why you're in the league."

Flash is offended by that, "Hey! I'm not a rookie you know. I've been catching bad guys for almost 'TWO' years."

"Oh I'm impressed.

Flash sticks his tongue out at the Lantern. John just ignores him.

A few seconds, Flash speaks again, "Hey GL, after this, you want to grab some pizza at Chuck E' Cheese? I could go for about 20 extra-larges."

John gives the Scarlet Speedster a funny look, "That place is for kids."

"No it's not!" argues Flash, "It's for everybody." Flash tries again, "Where would you like to go eat?"

"Nowhere thanks."

"Fine then, more for me. How about tomorrow?" Flash gets excited thinking about it, "We could get pizza, catch a movie, and check out the chicks on the beach. What do you say?"

"No thank you," John answers without even looking at Flash.

"Well, what do you like to do for fun?" wonders Flash, "We've never actually hung out together before. None of us have ever hung out when we're not working, and teammates should bond together when off duty."

John slightly looks at Flash, "I don't have time for fun."

"Then make time," says Flash, "As Grammy Flash used to say, 'All work and no play equals to a short and unhappy life.'"

John manages to hide his astoundment from Flash. John's grandmother actually used to say the same thing, but that was a long time ago. John feels so far removed from his happy childhood days with his Grandma Stewart.

Flash feels he can no longer hold "it" in. He crunches down and grinns his teeth.

"GL, I really need to go."

"No, I feel something. Feels like shaking."

The building starts to shake. The buildings and the street below is also shaking. It feels like an earth quake. This makes Flash feel even worse.

"I can't..."

"Flash! The shaking's coming from the diamond store," John activates his ring, "Let's go."

"NO!" cries Flash, "I can't hold it! I can't!"

Flash blast off at a steed that John can't catch him at.

"FLASH! YOU COME BACK HERE THIS INSTANT!"

Too late, Flash is out of sight, and now John must deal with this situation alone. Furious, John storms into the diamond store. The place has already been robbed, and no thief in sight. Suddenly, something sharp hits John's back. He turns around to see a diamond on the floor, looks up, and is startled to see an extremely large and fat black man. He must weigh about 400 lbs. He's dressed in a well-worn business suit and pointing a gun. This must be 'THE CHUNK'.

John points his ring at him. "We can do this the easy way, or the hard way Chunk."

Chunk just stares "You, you're a hero. So slim, so muscular, so powerful. You must be well loved."

"Enough," John shots a beam from his ring and traps the Chunk in a bubble. The Chunk shakes and the room rumbles, like another mini quake. John hears a 'POP' and the barrier just disappears. He is shocked be this.

"You, the kind of person I hate. I will send you where I sent the others."

John flies above Chunk. "The only place you're going is prison." John shot more beams. Chunk attacks back with diamonds. The diamonds seem to be coming out of his mouth! John's green aura protects him.

"So judgmental, so misunderstanding."

The Chunk's voice sounds very depressed, but John has no pity. Chuck shots bullets with his gun. John deflects the bullets with his ring, the he shots beams directly at Chunk. With every beam, however, is heard a 'POP', and the beams disappears. John doesn't understand how this is happening. Chunk comes closer to John. John again tries to hit him with his ring, but the light continues to disappear, preceded by a 'POP'.

 _What is going on here?_ Wonders John as Chunk points the gun at him, _And where the heck is..._

A red blur appears and the gun is knocked out of Chunk's hand. Flash has finally arrived.

"Where the HECK have you been?" yells John.

"I told you I had to go," answers Flash.

"HOW 'DARE' YOU ABANDON ME TO FACE THIS FREAK ALONE!"

"Oh hold the phone," replies Flash, "I'm here now."

Flash glances at Chunk, who is starting at him. Flash's eyes bug out at the sight of this huge man.

"Whoa. So you're the big fat dude we were looking out for," Flash giggles, "Bats wasn't kidding. You really are BIG."

Chunk sneers at Flash, "Look at you. So smooth, so thin, so popular, so quick. I could never wear a suit like that."

Flash grins, "Yea well it takes a lot of work to maintain this physic."

"The kind of people I hate. The kind of people who did this to me."

Flash doesn't get this statement, "Ah yea. Well anyway." He puts his hands on his hips and glances at John, "Good job here buddy, but now that I'm here, we'll rap this up in no time. I bet you he's slower than a snail, as big as he is."

Chunk starts spitting diamonds out of his mouth like a gun firing bullets. Flash is freaked out by this and doges them. Before John can react, however, his ring hand gets hit hard, receiving a huge and bloody cut. More diamonds hit John on the forehead, knocking him down and hitting his head.

Flash's jaw drops and he looks at Chunk with angry eyes, "Alright. Play times over. Time to go to jail now."

Flash circles Chunk and pows him many times over at super speed. The pows seem to be having no effect on him. Chunk the grabs Flash by the arm and whacks him over, banging hard onto the floor.

Flash gets up groaning, rubs his head, and assumes attack position. "Look here fat boy, I've had a long night. I'm tired and very, VERY hungry. I hate to do this to you, but you leave me no choice,"

Flash charges and punches Chunk hard in the stomach. Chuck coughs up a diamond, hitting Flash hard on the head.

"I get hungry too you know," Chuck hits Flash with more diamonds, knocking him back to the floor again, "I have feelings to. Hungry yes. So hungry. Have to eat all the time. Fat boy. Chunk they called me. But I showed them"

Flash groans as he sits up, "Yea yea. So you're hungry. I'm hungry too. And you have a pretty interesting diet I see here. Now if you don't mind, I'd really like to get this over with so I can fill 'my' stomach with 'real' foods."

"Have to eat matter," says Chunk, sounding rather depressed, "Eat enough and close the hole and make it go away. But there's never enough. Have to plug the hole. Have to plug the hole."

"Okay," says a bewildered Flash, "I have a hole in my stomach too. Now, let's finish this."

"No," says Chuck, "I'll bring you back."

Chuck starts to vibrate, the rooms once again shaking like an earth quake. Flash suddenly feels himself being pulled to the ground. He can't move, as if the gravity is getting heavier.

"UGH!" screams Flash, "What's happening? Gravity! Gravity! I can't move!"

Chunk comes up behind Flash and grabs him, "I hate to this. It hurts me to do this, but you made me."

"Made you do what?"

"You want to see why I must steal dense materials?"

Flash can't get loose from Chunk's grip, "NO! I don't! GL!"

John hears his nickname and finally comes to. He sees what's happening and shots a beam, rapping Chunk up tightly with Flash still in his grip.

"What do you think you're doing?" But it's too late. John also gets caught in the gravity pull. There is a 'POP', and the three of them disappear.

 **Note: Chester P. Runk, aka the Chunk, is a character from the Flash comics. Some of his dialogue here is quoted directly from The Flash: Issue 9.**


	3. Survival and Singularities

**Chapter 3: Survival and Singularities**

Green Lantern slowly regains consciousness. He notices that he is lying on dry ground. He gets up and looks around and is shocked by what he sees. The land is rocky, dry, and almost bear. The sun is still up and its position suggest that it is late afternoon here. They are surrounded by active volcanoes. Strange birds that look like pterodactyls glide through the air. Other than that, John sees no other signs of life. The Chunk is nowhere in sight.

Flash slowly wakes up and he too is shocked by what he sees, even more so then John.

"GL, where are we?"

Flash didn't get the answer he was hoping for. John looks anger and slaps Flash hard on the head.

"OW!" Flash rubs the back of his head, "Jeez! What was that for?"

"Nice going Flash."

"Hey," asks a surprised Flash, "How is this my fault?"

"You abandon me during battle when I needed you," John answers firmly, "then you show up, joked around, and make trouble, as always."

"Hey, I told you I had to go," answers Flash, "What was I supposed to do? Besides, the outcome would have been different if you weren't so knaggy and bossy."

"Knaggy and bossy am I," replies John "I wouldn't have to be if you were more series about your work."

Flash is irritated, "No need to be, you're far too serious for the both of us, triple that. Not like I haven't seen you make mistakes."

John gives his teammate an offended look. Ignoring him, Flash crosses his arms and huffs, "So, what do we do now?"

John looks around, "We have two choices. We can either stand here arguing, or you can cooperate until we can get out of this waste land."

Flash looks sharply at John, "Excuse me? Me cooperate? What about you? We're supposed to be teammates."

"Do even know how to survive outside modern western civilization?"

Flash shrugs his shoulders, "Like you do."

"Actually yes," responds John, "I could put my training to go use out here."

"Hey, you're not the only one with survival instincts," protests Flash. Actually, Wally has no idea what to do.

John doesn't buy it. "Really? Tell me Flash, what's the first thing we should do."

"Well," Flash hugs his grumbling stomach, "We should find some food, right?"

"Wrong," answers John, "First we look for signs of human life. Chunk said that he brought other people here. So we must try to find those people. We also must look for water. Then we worry about food and shelter. And naturally, we keep an eye out for Chunk."

"Aw no problem," says a sure Flash, "I'll just run around and scout this place out in no time."

"No you will NOT!" shouts John, "You have no idea where we are and you'll get lost," John looks at his ring, "And I need to really conserve my power. The gravity pull drained most of the power from my ring."

Flash sags, "Fine then. But I still say we should look for food first. You're not the only one almost out of juice. I'm so running on empty."

John ignores Flash and starts walking, making note of the rock formations and landmarks as they go alone. Flash blindly follows, thinking solely about food. Being "FAR" to long since his eaten and that little battle with Chunk, Flash is weakening and starting to get dizzy. Soon, his comfortable, air-conditioned home also creep into his mind. It's pretty hot here, with no there's no breeze and the air is very dry. While Wally's costume usually keeps his body temperature regulated, this is a bit too much.

As Flash walks, he also feels rather funny, like he's heavier all of a sudden. Sure, he's a bit tired and weak due to lack of food, but something else doesn't feel quite right.

After a half-hour or so of walking, John finds some made man knives and spears on the ground, as well as shoe prints and what looks like a pit for a camp fire. Flash walks over to some rocks and collapses.

"GL, I need to take a break," says an unusually winded Flash.

John looks at him, "I'd rather keep going. It'll be dark soon and we need to find a suitable place to camp out. This is not a suitable place."

"But I'm exhausted. And STARVING!" protests Flash, "I need to rest for at least a little while."

John relents a little, "Take five."

Flash is shocked, "FIVE! I was thinking more like, an hour or two."

"Five," orders John sternly, "I'm climbing up this rock to get a better view. There might even be fresh water in the cracks."

Flash rests on the rocks, disappointed. Now lying still, he feels the full heat of the now slowly setting but still blazing sun. He is thirsty, but more hungry then thirsty. Flash is much more concern about food then water. He feels dizzy, so he decides to close his eyes.

John looks down from the top of the rock and notices shoe prints at the bottom. The prints look fresh, and they head towards the rocks that Flash is laying on. John can see shadows moving and doesn't feel good about this one bit.

"Flash! Look out!"

Too late. A gang of roughly dressed men jump out and point spears at Flash. "Stop right there."

Flash is startled. "Excuse me? I wasn't even moving."

"Well," says one of the men, "Fresh meat! About time!"

The men attack. Flash fights back and punches them. However, something isn't quite right. He's still moving fast, but not as fast as usual. He tries harder to no avail.

John arrives and helps fight off the men physically.

"GL!" yells Flash, "My speeds not working right."

John and Flash both manage to grab weapons from the men and use the weapons to beat them. The duo hurry away before the men can get up. John takes one of the spears with him, but Flash drops his weapon.

Flash, feeling very winded, stops to catch his breath. "Man," he says between breaths, "Talk about a welcoming committee. I take it they weren't the kind of people we're looking for?"

John, for once, agrees with Flash, "Darn right. What was wrong back there? You seemed slower than usual."

"I was," says Flash, "I was at like half speed, maybe less. I feel heavier then usually. Yea, I'm usually weaker when I'm this hungry, but not like this."

John thinks for a minute. He himself has felt a bit heavier since arriving here, "It must be the gravity pull. It's slowing you down."

"Ah great," groans Flash, "That's all I need, extra gravity."

"Excuse me," comes a voice out of the blue, "We must get away from here."

John and Flash spin around to see three people standing behind then. A middle aged man, a younger man, and a woman in her late 20's or 30's. There are dressed in rags and look as if it's been quite some time since they've seen a bath.

"What did you two do to offend him?" asks the woman, "What year is it back home?

After getting over their initial shock, John and Flash introduced themselves and give then the date.

"Really?" says the lady, "I thought it had been longer."

"My goodness!" says a bewildered John, "How long have you been here?"

"Around five years for me," answers the older man, "The others less so. I'm Jarrett Parker, Ph.D. I was Chester's therapist."

"Oh yes," replies John, "I remember reading about you in the file. You were presumed dead."

"My family probably believes I'm dead," says the lady, "My name is Karin Preus. I turned the creep down for a date."

"Eric Gunderson," says the younger man rather sternly, "All I did was cut him off at an intersection!"

Flash can't believe it, "You're kidding, right?"

"Afraid not," answers Dr. Parker, "Excuse me, but we really need to start moving before those savage punks down there wake up. Follow us."

The group starts walking, Karin passing directly in front of Flash.

"Mmm gladly," smiles Flash. John gives him the shoulder, "OW!"

"Not now."

Flash rubs his arm, "Alright, just stop hitting me already."

Eric rudely jumps in front of everyone. "I'll lead the way if you don't mind."

"Nobody asked you," responds Karin sternly.

They group passes some mushrooms. Flash's stomach cries out intensely. He zips over to the mushrooms and just as he's about to pick one, a knife lands just barely missing his hand.

"Don't eat those mushrooms!" yells Eric, "They're poisonous."

"You sure?" asks a desperate Flash.

"Several people have died eating those mushrooms! Now back away from them if you want to live!"

Flash stands up sacking like a child, "Alright, but was throwing that knife really necessary?"

"Ignore him," says Karin, "Eric can be pretty intense."

"You should know it," replies Eric a little flirtatious.

"Oh please!"

"So what do you eat?" ask Flash rubbing his stomach.

Eric points to one of the pterodactyl-like birds flying overhead, "You see those flying things?"

"NO!" says Flash in disbelief. John, however, really isn't that surprised.

"Yes," replies Eric, "And before I arrived, these people were in even worse shape. They were eatin' bugs and lizards! That's right, bugs and lizards!"

A disguised look appears on Flash's face. As hungry as he is, he doesn't feel 'that' desperate. Not yet anyway.

"They'd have starved to death if I hadn't come along." Eric picks up his knife and holds it up, "I salvaged this knife from one of those cars, built a bow and some traps. I organized them and taught them how to hunt. If it weren't for the Chunk, this'd be "MY" kind of wilderness. I was an army ranger back home with tons of wilderness training after all!"

Karin puts her foot down, "Why don't you stop blowing your own horn and tell Green Lantern and Flash something useful."

"Well excuse me Miss High and Mighty!" yells Eric, "I didn't hear any objections when I brought you dinner."

"Grow up."

John, Flash, and Dr. Parker walk ahead as the couple continues to bicker.

"Man," says Flash, "What's with them?"

John looks at him in disbelief, "You're kidding."

"Kidding about what?"

"Never mind," says Dr. Parker, "Let's just walk. They'll catch up."

As they walk, Dr. Parker explains how they got there.

"Chunk has merged with a matter transmitter, his own invention. Chunk is quite a genius and I don't understand the physics myself. Merging with the matter transmitter has turned him into a walking singularity."

"A what?" ask Flash.

"A singularity," answers John, "That's like a black hole."

"Oh."

"But he's unstable," continues Dr. Parker, taking them to the top of a hill and pointing down to a large yacht surrounded by a high wired fence. "He lives down there in that boat he stole. That's where the alter is," Parker points to a strange glow in the middle of the fenced in area.

"What is that?" ask John.

"It's a partially manifested singularity," answers Parker, "Chunk has to keep feeding it or it will consume this entire place."

"Wait I'm confused," says Flash, "Did you just say that thing down there is a sing...whatever? I though you said Chunk was the black hole?"

"He is."

"Okay." Flash doesn't get it.

Parker continues, "That's another singularity that cropped up one day like an uninvited guest. Like a singularity within a singularity. Chunk has to feed it super dense materials such as diamonds and gold."

"It's like a black hole inside of a black hole," John simplifies.

Flash thinks he gets it, "Aw I see. Just like me! I have to constantly keep eating or my stomach will eat me from the inside out," Flash hugs his roaring belly, "Like right now."

"Yea," says John rolling his eyes, still failing to comprehend Flash's impossibly inhuman need for food, "Tell me Dr. Parker, how many people has Chunk brought here?"

"Around a couple hundred I'd say. Many have perished, others have simply disappeared. Still others have wandered off to form autonomous units of their own, like that one that attacked you and your friend?"

"Get out!" responds Flash in disbelief, "I mean come on. How can Chunk possibly grab all these people without attracting attention?"

"He's clever and careful," answers Dr. Parker, "and he travels. Quite a few of them are undesirables. Criminals actually."

"Well," says Flash a bit cocky, "Why don't we get into that boat and get Chunk to take us home? I've about had enough of this hot, dry, ugly waste land with no food and scary people and creatures."

Flash takes off towards the fence. "No don't!" shouts Dr. Parker, but too late. Flash plans to run over it the fence, but as soon as he touches it, he gets electrocuted and thrown back. By this time, Eric and Karin have caught up.

John help's Flash up. "Are you insane?" shouts Eric. "We can't get over that fence. Even if we could, that singularity would consume you out of existence."

Flash gulps nervously, "Oh okay. So, how do we get out of here?"

"We don't," answers Eric sternly, "Look, the sooner you accept there's no way out of here, the happier you'll be."

"Who could be happy living in this dump?" complains Flash.

John grabs Flash and pulls him over, "Excuse us for a minute," he looks Flash right in the eyes, "Look, you better stop complaining and listen to these people. They know what they're talking about."

"Don't tell me you've given up on finding a way home already," replies Flash, "There has to be a way." Flash looks over at the boat again, "Hey GL, why don't you use your ring to fly over the fence? We'll confront Chunk be home in no time!"

John shakes his head, "I'm not going to waste the little power I have on a gamble like that. The best thing to do now is to cooperate with these people. We'll finger things out as we go along."

"Are you two coming or not?" ask Eric.

John and a reluctant Flash follow the group. Karin walks next to Flash, "Excuse me, but do you have to wear a mask?"

That gets Flash's attention, "Yes I do. Protects my secret identity. Chicks dig the whole man and mystery thing."

"There's really no point in having a secret identity here," says Karin.

"Aw don't worry sweet thing," assures Flash rather flirtatious, "I don't plan on staying long. I believe there's a way home."

"Really?"

"HEY!" yells Eric, "Keep your eyes off her or I'll throw you over that fence and into the singularity myself!"

"You couldn't even throw a softball over that fence," argues Karin.

"Excuse me Karin! If it weren't for me you'd be dead!"

"I survived five months before you got here!"

"You were a mere skeleton when I arrived!"

Flash is kind of amused by their arguing, "Hey GL, is that how we sound when we bicker?"

"Not exactly," answers John.

Flash thinks for a second, "Yea you're right. That sounds more like the way you and Hawkgirl bicker."

John shots a disapproving look. Flash grins sheepishly, "I'll shut up."

"Come on everyone," says Dr. Parker, "We're almost there. You two are more than welcomed to join our group. You'd be great additions."

"Pardon me Parker," interrupts Eric, "but I'm the council leader and it's up to the council to decide if they can join our group. We are the only 'CIVILIZED' group here, after all."

John and Flash are lead into a small fort surrounded by a steel wall. The fort is composed of a few small, crumbling buildings and man-made shelters, a well, a couple of old cars, and even a couple of vegetable gardens.

"It took us two years to build this place," informs Eric, "There are seventeen of us now, counting yourselves."

"Where'd you get the gardens," ask John.

"We found seeds in the trunks of cars Chunk stole," answers Eric, "Guano from the flying things."

"Guano?" ask Flash.

"Bird droppings," answers John.

Flash cringes, "Sorry I asked."

"Come I'll introduce you." Eric points to a couple with a toddler. "This here is Bob and Lois. They met here, fell in love, and now they have a kid."

"Hi!" greets Bob, "I told Chunk he had to bathe if he wanted to come into my science fiction store."

"Hi," greets Lois, "I asked him not to stare at my breasts. This is our daughter, Jessie. Say hello Jessie."

Little Jessie waves hello.

"Hello little one," says Flash leaning towards the toddler. "I'm W…..ah…..Flash. You and I are going to be great friends."

Flash and John are introduced to the rest of the inhabitants.

"I didn't appreciate him picking up my purse for me," says one woman.

"I didn't get out of his way fast enough," says a man.

"I don't know 'what' I did," adds a man named Derek, who's wearing a Hawaiian shirt, "I guess he just didn't like my shirt."

Flash puts his hand over his mouth to cover a giggle, "I don't blame him?"

John's about to slap Flash again and Flash puts his arms over his head. "You don't have to keep hitting me, John Stewart."

"Then stop acting stupid," informs John glaring at him.

"I can't help it," argues Flash, "I get very light headed when I'm hungry."

"You're always light-headed."

"Well I'm always hungry!"

Upon saying that, Flash notices the vegetable garden. He zooms over there and starting stuffing tomatoes, onions, and radishes into his mouth.

"HEY!" Eric snaps a whip in front of Flash, who has consumed half of the garden, "Save some for the rest of us. Thoughts vegetables take months to grow."

Flash reluctantly gets up and slowly backs away from the garden, "Sorry. I couldn't help myself," Flash looks at John with a disgusted look on his face; "Man I must losing it. I don't even like vegetables. Can we please go home now?"

"Relax," says Karin, "We'll have dinner soon."

"You mean I've got to eat those flying things," ask Flash.

"Cook 'em long enough and it's not so bad," informs Eric, "As a matter of fact, it's a lot like deer meat, very lean. We use the skin for leather and the skulls for weapons."

"But deer meat isn't fatting," complains Flash.

"Flash..." starts a disapproving John.

"No way!" Flash shoes off John and turns away, "I'm not listening to anymore lectures from you."

 **Author's notes: I don't own any of these characters. All these characters come from The Flash; Issue 10, The Savaged Speedster, copyrighted Mar. 1988. Several quotes in this chapter are also taken from that same issue.**

 **REVIEW APPERCIATED!**


	4. Harsh Reality

**Review reply: Thanks Kyer for your review. Remember that John really did act like a jerk in the early episodes. He viewed every situation, even the most basic and everyday, as a military mission and everybody as soldiers on duty, expecting them to be as such.**

 **This chapter introduces an OC. I own Maria and she is not based on anyone from the comics.**

 **Chapter 4-Harsh Reality**

 _Gotham City_

Within an hour after Flash and Green Lantern disappeared, Batman checked in on them and received nothing but static from the other end of their channels. To check the com link lines, Batman called the rest of the league and each one of them responded. Each tried calling Lantern and Flash again with no luck. This reminded the league of when their same two teammates com links were off line while Gorilla Grodd's force shield was over Central City just a few days, trapping both John and Flash and cutting off their com links.

This however, doesn't seem to be the same sort of situation.

Batman immediately goes to the diamond store Flash and John had been staking out. According to his time predicament, Chunk should have struck within the last 2-4 hours, although the times he strikes can vary. Diana and Hawkgirl joined the Capped Crusader within minutes.

Although Hawkgirl's expression was hidden by her mask, a look underneath would have reviled a rather worried look in her eyes. She didn't know why, but she felt a sudden sense of urgency, personal urgency, when she heard that both John and Flash were missing. She had felt this same kind of worry when they couldn't contact the two of them last week. Shayera Hol hasn't felt this kind of personal concern for anybody since she arrived on Earth as a spy for Thanagar nearly 4 years ago, a fact unknown to her new Justice League teammates, however.

The three heroes investigate the diamond store. It's a very odd situation. There are no signs of forced entry, no windows or anything on the outside cracked or damaged, although some trash cans and a couple of lamp posts around the building are knocked over. The inside of the store is in complete catastrophic. A couple of witnesses reported what felt like a minor earthquake just a couple of hours earlier, followed by another shake a few minutes later. There are no signs of Flash or John anywhere. The chaotic mess of the store concurs with other locations the Chunk is believed to have hit, as are the reported quake like shakes. Batman thinks that the shakes might have something to do with their teammates' disappearance.

Batman takes out his energy scanner and detects a very strong force inside the building.

"What is it Batman?" ask Diana.

"Scanner readings indicate strong gravitation disturbance in this spot," answers Batman.

"Was the gravitation disturbance a heavy pull or a weaken release?" ask Hawkgirl.

"A heavy pull," answers Batman, "A very heavy pull. This gravity was strong enough to pin Flash down."

"That means he wouldn't have been able to move, right?" ask Diana, remembering from one of their first team meetings when Flash described his weakness to abnormal gravity pulls.

"But it wouldn't have pinned Lantern down," says Hawkgirl, "And what does this have to do with their disappearance?"

"I have found similar readings at other locations Chunk is believed to have struck," answers Batman. He follows his scanner as it indicates stronger and weaker points. Then the scanner readings runs to its maximum point.

"The gravity disturbance is strongest right here."

Wonder Woman and Hawkgirl join Batman at that spot. They still fell a heavier gravity pull at this spot and it makes them both feel nauseous and heavy.

"Great Hera," says Diana backing away from the spot, "I've never felt such strong gravity before."

"That's usually the power I feel before going through a worm hole," adds Hawkgirl.

"You might be on to something Hawkgirl," says Batman. He moves towards the center of the disturbance and right in the middle, it just disappears all together. "These kind of reading indicts that a singularity was opened up here."

Diana's eyes widen, "A singularity? That's like a black hole isn't it?"

"Or a portal," adds Hawkgirl.

"A portal to where?" ask Diana, concerned.

"Another dimension I assume," answers Batman, "These are the strongest readings I've recorded yet. These are also the earliest readings I've taken from any of the suspected sites. The previous readings I've taken had weakened significantly by the time I arrived. This is the first time I've detected the presence of a possible singularity."

"Can we reopen the portal?" ask Diana.

"It would take a special kind of advance technology and an exceptional amount of gravitational energy to open up a portable like that," answers Hawkgirl.

"And there is no technological or force I know of on Earth that could do that," adds Batman, "And without the exact readings. We could open up a portal to practically anywhere."

"There must be a way to bring them back," says Hawkgirl, careful not to make her emotional concern to obvious through her voice, "J'onn might have more answers."

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 _Back In Wasteland_

The bird meat actually isn't that bad, in John's opinion. It's certainly better than other things he has been forced to eat before on other worlds. The vegetables are good. This pretty much makes up the inhabitants diet, plus occasional fruit after the short raining season, which is several months late in the land. Sometimes they also hunt small mammals and reptiles as well.

Flash barely taste the meat at all, he's just inhaling it. John is embarrassed by Flash's table manners, or lack of. While most the inhabitants use forks, Flash is too impatient for that and just uses his hands, picking up his plate towards his face and licking it clean, and wiping his mouth with his sleeve. He also grabs and eats food off other peoples' plates, _then_ asking them weather they were going to eat it or not. John swears that Flash could hold the world record for belching. While the inhabitants don't have the best table manners, considering they've been removed from civilization for a while, Flash's "manners" are the worst of all.

"Got any more?" asks Flash after cleaning his plate yet again.

Eric is in shock, and in disgust; "I don't believe you! You've had THREE PORTIONS!"

"Actually," smirks Flash, "I've had about eight, just eating too fast for you to keep up."

"That's ENOUGH!" exclaims Eric snatching Flash's plate away, "I don't know what you're thinking, but everyone's limited to ONE portion. Food is sparse and we barely have enough as it is. I told you that!"

Flash is shocked, "You've got to kidding. I have to eat at least TWENTY portions, probably forty of this healthy stuff. I have this metabolism problem."

Gasps come from all around the table.

"Your body will adjust like everybody else," argues Eric.

"No it WON'T!" Flash shouts back, "It's all part of being the fastest man alive and..."

John, severely underestimating Flash's true nutritional needs, puts his hand over Flash's mouth to quite him. "He's right Flash. You've had too much already. Now stop arguing."

Flash places both hands on his stomach, which is still whining with hunger, "But GL..."

"Quit being so selfish."

That hurt. Wally hates being called selfish. He always tries to think of others, but John is right, he can be selfish sometimes, especially when it comes to food. But he can't help it.

HE'S SO HUNGRY!

"But I can't help..."

"Quite!" says a lady across the table, "Eric's in a bad enough mood as it is. Don't make it worse."

"Way's he in such a bad mood?" asks Flash.

John shakes his head, "Haven't you been paying attention?"

"Paying attention to what?"

John makes Flash count the people around the table, reminding him that there's supposed to be 17. Flash counts only 14. At that moment two of the missing inhabitants return. Eric bangs his plate down hard on the table, breaking it. He gives the two returners a very angry glare.

"You still haven't found her? You two were supposed to be watching her!"

"Oh and just how many times has she ditched you?" one of them replies. Eric bangs his wipe at the guy, leaving a bleeding gash on his face.

It hadn't taken John long to realize that Eric Gunderson ran this place with an iron-fist, and almost no one really seemed to question or challenge his authority. Dr. Parker and Karin, however, did seem to hold their own towards Eric at least somewhat.

Eric's face turns red, "If she's hiding out at that dump again looking for more books, I'm going to burn her library."

Flash is shocked and horrified by Eric's attitude. He stands up.

"Excuse me, but I could help look for her. What does she look like?"

Eric glares at Flash, "We'll handle this. Stay out of it!"

Later that night, Wally can't get to sleep. He and John are lying on flat animal skins that are extremely uncomfortable on a hard, dirty wood floor. He's poor excuse for a pillow are a couple old, well-worn towels. His blanket is thin and torn. He tosses and turns trying to find a comfortable position to no avail. Although exhausted, this uncomfortable "bed" and the painful hunger pangs keep him awake.

Wally has his mask off, but it's so dark that John doesn't see his face.

HE REALLY IS HUNGRY! Those eight plates of bird meat and vegetables at dinner did little to ease Wally's hunger, and he wasn't able to have his usual "after dinner" and before bedtime snacks, not to mention the in-between munchings. He had tried to sneak more food, but John kept a good eye on him and the food storage was guarded. John still doesn't understand the Scarlet Speedster truly needs to eat tons more food or otherwise, Wally really doesn't want to think about it. He knows what everyone said about the short food supply, but he can't help it. If a normal person felt the way he feels right now, they'd feel like they hadn't eaten in days! Perhaps weeks.

This extra gravity pull in this land isn't helping matters either.

Wally's mind also occasional drifts towards the missing girl, Maria. She still hadn't returned when it was time to retire for the night. The inhabitants had taking turns looking for her, until darkness had called off the search. John and Flash weren't welcome in the search. They are "fresh fish" to the land and don't know it, they would only slow everything down. John understands, but Wally still thinks he could contribute to the search effort and had begged to join, but the inhabitants would have none of it.

John is having trouble sleeping as well. As a hardened Green Lantern veteran, he's longed learned to sleep on just about any surface and tune out noises. He would tune Flash's deafing stomach growls if Flash wasn't moaning, groaning, and constantly complaining about it. They bicker back and forth, Wally complaining about his hunger and uncomfortable living conditions, John telling him to be quite and to go to sleep. John wasn't looking forward to sharing a room with the speedster to begin with, now he has to put up with all this.

When John finally manages fall asleep, it's Wally's turn to be startled by a weird noise. It's John! He's snoring! Wally can't believe it. He is amused by this and giggles. So John Stewart isn't so quite himself. Wally's going to have fun with this.

Wally's stomach gives off a terrible, sharp painful growl. His stomach feels like it has hot nails tearing through it. HE CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE! He doesn't care what everyone said about the short food rations, he's GOT to have something to eat. NOW!

Barely remembering to put his mask back on, Flash zips to the dining hall. No one is here. Perfect. Flash searches the cabinets, which are paged-locked, but this isn't a problem for the speedster, he just slightly vibrates his hands to jam the locks. He finds meat in one of the cabinets, lots and lots of it!

His stomach screams again, and Flash starts shoving large chunks of meat into his mouth. The meat is raw and uncooked, but he doesn't care.

Flash has just about cleaned out the cabinet when he hears yelling. It's Eric. Startled and freighted, Flash is sure Eric is yelling at him. He turns around but Eric isn't in the room. The yelling is coming from the next room. Curious, Flash creeps to the doorway and peaks to see Eric yelling at a little girl, approximately 8 or 9 years of age. The little girl is Maria, and Flash is surprised that Maria is just a child. He had assumed she was a bit older.

"Maria!" yells Eric, "You know that you're not supposed to leave the compound without an escort! That's the third time this week! You know how dangerous it is out there! I'm supposed to keep you alive and you're making it difficult!" Eric snatches the book Maria is holding, "I've had it up here with your reading and your imagination! That Parker keeps filling your head with hopes and dreams that will never come true! NEVER! Now go to your room young lady! You will not have supper!"

Flash is shocked. After Maria leaves the room, he zips in front of Eric, startling him.

"Hey! That was uncalled for."

Eric's face turns red, "Stay out of this. It's none of your business."

"But making her go without supper," argues Flash, "You can't do that!"

"I can if it teaches her the value of survival," replies Eric, "She's used to it. I'm trying to teach her the realities of life but that Parker is filling her head with fantasies."

"But she's a little girl!" argues Flash.

"Yes and she's 'MY' responsibility. Her father entrusted 'ME' with her care. You will not interfere. UNDERSTOOD?"

"Yay. Sure."

Eric doesn't buy it, "I MEAN THAT! No fooling!" Eric stomps out of the room.

Wally can't believe this. What's wrong with filling a child's head with hopes and dreams? They need them. Adults need them. That's what makes live worth living.

Ignoring Eric's orders, Flash heads back to the dining hall. Having consumed almost all the meat, there is just enough scrapes left for a small portion for Maria. He puts it on a plate and heads for the direction she went. He spots her in a room lying on her animal skin 'bed'. The room is scarcely lite by a small candle, glowing on the little girl's face.

Kneeling next to Maria, Flash discovers that she's already asleep. He puts the plate on the floor next to her. Noticing that she doesn't have a blanket, he finds one for her and covers her. He spends a few minutes looking at the sweet face of this child and rubs her cheek.

"Don't worry Maria," whispers Flash, "We'll get out of here. I promise."

 **I appreciate reviews.**


	5. Next Day

**I love to know what ya'll think. Please review.**

 **Chapter 6-Next Day**

The sun is hardly passed the horizon when John awakes the next morning. The lone, tiny window in the room reveals it to still be quite dark outside. Ever since his marine days, John has been an early raiser. Out of habit, John almost uses his ring for a little light, but remembers not to waste the very little power left, which he intends to save for an emergency.

Flash finally fell asleep sometime during the night. John doesn't expect Flash to wake up as he exits the door because Flash is a heavy sleeper, as well as a late raiser by nature.

John gets a small bucket of water from the well outside, a wash rag (actually a piece of old clothing), goes to the wash area, and gives himself a rub down. John has done this many times before, although usually he manages to get soap. Unfortunately, there is no soap available. He was told last night that due to the long dry season and drought, everyone was only aloud just enough water to soak their clothes and wipe down.

John enters the dining area as Eric furiously slams a door to the cabinet. He kicks the cabinet hard and looks very angry.

"What's the matter?" asks John.

Eric turns to face him and points to the cabinet "Maybe you can tell me. There was 40 pounds of meat in there last night! It's not there now. And the lock was broken! I am going to check this place from top to bottom, starting with your room. I saw your friend out here last night. If I find meat hidden in your room, the punishment will be severe. Now get out of my way."

Eric rudely pushes John out of the way. John follows in pursuit. John has no doubt who the culprit is, but keeps silent. He would much rather deal with Flash himself then for Eric. Somehow, he successfully persuades Eric not to wake up Flash (who had forgotten to re-remove his mask when he returned last night). Eric searches the room top to bottom, but finds nothing. Eric looks at John, then the sleeping speedster, then John again.

"I'm warning you Mr. John Stewart, if either you or your friend there are behind this, you will be severely punished. I won't go easy on you two just because you're fresh fish. We do not tolerate behavior such as this. Do I make myself clear?"

"Loud and clear," answers John. Eric leaves the room. An angry look appears on John's face as he looks at a still sleeping speedster and cringes his fists.

Flash has really done it this time.

A little while later, John finds Eric arguing with Dr. Parker. Karin is comforting a young girl. This girl must be Maria. John figured she was a kid, but she's a little younger then he suspected.

Bob appears next to the lantern, "Can you believe this?"

"What's going on?"

"The way Eric treats that girl. So what if she did swipe a little meat last night. It serves Eric right for sending her to bed without supper. She wasn't the only one, everybody's hungry. I worry about Maria too, always sneaking out the way she does, but the way Eric treats that child is beyond harsh. Besides, I think Maria keeps doing it, because Eric tries to keep her locked in her and is always yelling and threating her. Not to mention hitting her with that wipe, or shaving her head and burning her books and artwork when she's "supposedly" bad. She resents it all."

John's mouth drops with shock. He wonders how Eric can get away with such abuse, but considering where they are, the desperation, and that Eric seems to run this place with an iron fist, or rather a wipe and a knife, it's not surprising.

"He wasn't always this bad," Bob adds, "but I think the years of being in this land have made Eric bitter and stone-hearted, as many of us seem to be becoming."

John understand what Bob is saying. The harden veteran Green Lantern has seen this so many times. He's seem so much pain, suffering, sorrow, horror, etc. So little seems to surprise him anymore. Maybe John himself has gotten too use to these sort of things. His heart certainly isn't cold or bitter, but maybe it has become a bit stoned, which he's had to do to be able to do what he does every single day.

"Besides;" adds Bob, "I think someone else gave her that plate while she was asleep. Maria never would have left obvious evidence like that."

John shakes his head. Poor Maria is taking the rape for Flash's mistake.

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Wally wakes up with a bad call of nature. He refuses to go back into the so-called "outhouse" like last night, although going outside the complex walls in nature isn't much better, it's a better "alternative". When Flash returns, he finds Karin in the dining hall. He can't help but stare starry-eyed at her.

While looking at her, the girl-crazed yet starving speedster starts to see images of fried chicken breast and thighs.

"Oh no Wally, don't start losing it," he says to himself.

Karin notices him, "It's alright. You may look."

Flash is surprised by that statement, "What? Really?"

Karin smiles, "Sure, I don't mind."

Wow. Wally isn't sure any lady has ever actually "said" he could look at them.

Flash yawns and rubs the remaining sleep out of his eyes.

"What time is it?"

"It's the middle of the afternoon," answers Karin, "You slept a long time."

Wally is surprised. Another "side-effect" he has as a speedster is that he requires more sleep to function then the average person, but even he shouldn't have slept this long. Yet the hunger and unintentionally staying awake part of the night must have made him more tired than usual.

Speaking of hunger, his stomach remounts its protests. Flash frantically searches for food.

"Is there anything to eat?" asks Flash, desperately.

Karin points to a small crate, "There are some onions in here."

Flash devours the onions in twenty seconds (which is slow for the speedster). The others won't like this, but Karin doesn't care. In fact, she is amazed. She has never seen an appetite even remotely close to the Flash's. It makes her think it was most likely him who raided out the meat last night.

Although amused, this can't be good. Food is scarce enough as it is, and she doesn't see how they can possibly feed this Flash for very long.

"That's quite an appetite you have there," Karin comments.

Flash stares into the now empty crate in despair, "You have no idea. Please is there any more food?"

"I'm afraid not," answers Karin, "Eric and your friend are out hunting right now. Hopefully they'll be successful."

"Hopefully?"

"Yes. Food has been harder to come by because the birds are fast and getting wiry of us. Other animals have migrated or in hiding. Plus we can't grow any more vegetables since there is so little water. The monsoon is late this year."

"The what?"

"The monsoon," answers Karin.

"What's that?" ask a puzzled Flash.

Karin is surprised, "The rain. Usually we've had it months before now, but it's very late this year. We have to keep digging deeper and deeper for water and we don't know how much longer we can keep that up."

That does it. Flash has got to get out of here right now. He runs around the complex asking everyone he meets if they have any idea how to get home. Each time the answer is there is no way home. Then he ask everyone if they would accompany him to Chunk's boat and try to find a way in, since Flash doesn't remember where it is. Again each time the answer is the same, NO.

"Going to that boat is suicide."

Flash also keeps checking Maria's room, but she isn't in there. She doesn't appear to be anywhere on the complex.

Flash reluctantly accepts that he has to wait for the hunting party to return. He's unable to get any of the few remaining vegetables from the garden as it is being closely guarded. Running around the complex like a maniac for just a few minutes has weakened Wally even further. He's getting dizzy, his vision is getting a little blurry, and his body is shaking.

Flash returns to the dining hall to find Dr. Parker sitting at the table drinking a glass of water. His mouth is parched.

"Hey Doc, may I have some water?" asks Flash.

"Over there in the bucket," answers the doctor.

Flash picks up the bucket and takes large gulps of water. Dr. Parker runs over and takes the bucket away from Flash, only to find it now empty.

"Not so much! Water is in short supply right now."

Flash walks slowly to table and sits down. A look of despair appears on his face and he lets his emotions lose.

"Food is in short supply. Water is in short supply. No proper toilets, no showers, no baths, no proper beds, no air conditioning, dirt floors, dry air. I'm starving, I'm dirty, I smell, I just want to go home. I want my Mom!"

Flash places his face in his hands. He is sobbing. Dr. Parker tries to comfort him.

"It's alright. You're not the first fresh fish to be in shock on the first day and you won't be the last. It's an awful lot to adjust to I know, but you'll get used to it."

"I don't want to get used to it," sobs Flash, "I want to go home."

After crying and complaining a little while longer, Wally feels a little better and tries to compose himself. He whips away his tears and his thoughts switch to Maria.

"Hey Doc, where's Maria? I haven't seen her around."

"First, don't call me Doc."

"Why not?" asks Flash, "All my other doctors let me call them Doc."

"I find it obnoxious," answers Parker, "Eric took her hunting with him as punishment, or that's what he'd like to think. She's enthusiastic to go. She loves hunting."

"Punishment? For what?"

"For having meat in her room."

Flash is surprised, "Didn't she eat it?"

"I don't believe so. If she had, she wouldn't have left evidence behind," answers Parker, "Wait. You wouldn't happen to know what happened to the meat from the cabinet, would you?"

Flash bits his lip and looks down. He knows he's in trouble now.


	6. Confession and Punishment

**Please review.**

 **Chapter 7-Confession and Punishment**

It is early evening when the hunting party finally returns. Even if he wasn't the fastest man alive, Wally would have been the first person out by the gate waiting impatiently for them to come in with the catch. Dr. Parker, however holds the "not so fast right now" speedster back, urging him not to crowd or pester the returners.

Dr. Parker had a hard time believing that the Flash had actually consumed 40 lbs. of meat like it was nothing. The doctor had agreed, somewhat reluctantly, not to out Flash, and relented and allowed Flash to eat some vegetables cooked in meat broth. Aside from that and the small crate of onions, however, Wally hasn't had anything else to eat, and he's hungrier then ever. He now starts to feel dizzy and winded after only taking a few steps and his speech is starting to slur.

Derek, the man in the Hawaiian shirt, tries to come in first, but Eric rudely shoves him out of the way and enters first. Derek enters next with an angry look, followed by John and couple others. Each man is dragging in a few kills.

"We were lucky today," says Eric.

Maria finally enters, carrying a couple of those pterodactyl birds herself. Flash is horrified that she's dragging such a heavy looking load for such a skinny child. He interprets this as another form of punishment and abuse. Something inside of him boils up and snaps. He brashly attacks Eric and knocks him to the ground, with Flash on top of Eric.

"You JERK!" Flash yells with a both hands around Eric's neck, "First you try rob to her of her innocence, send her bed hungry, burn her books, and now you make her drag that heavy load all by herself! Don't you have any sort of a conscious?"

John and another man grab Flash and force him off of Eric.

"YOU IMMATURE MAROON!" Eric shouts back, "Those are her kills and she wanted to carry them!"

"Likely story," Flash is restrained and shouts childish name calling and statements at Eric. John gets in front of Flash and slaps him hard across the cheek, harder than he's ever slapped the young Scarlet Speedster before. Flash hits the hard, brittle ground hard.

"Honestly Flash!" yells John, "Maria made those kills herself. She insists on carrying them. They aren't as heavy as they look and Maria is very capable. Do you honestly think I would have allowed a child to handle a load that she couldn't or wanted to do?"

Flash, who's usually light-hearted, doesn't exactly take that statement lightly, "Really? That load looks rather heavy to me."

"Then why don't you try carrying it yourself?" challenges Eric.

Flash accepts the challenge, "Alright wise guy. I will."

Flash picks up the two kills at first with ease, but within seconds, the load starts to feel heavy. The two birds, which turn out to be juveniles, aren't as heavy as they look it's possibly that strong child Maria's size could handle them.

 _Perhaps I did misjudge,_ Flash thinks to himself.

Normally, this sort of weight is nothing for the Flash, but unfortunately, his severe lack of food, plus the land's extra gravity pull, has left him weaker than a sick child. He manages to carry the load half way across the complex yard before he has to put it down and nearly collapses. He feels very dizzy and has what feels like a migraine.

Eric, who has seen these sort of "tricks" before, doesn't believe that Flash is really weak. He walks up Flash and kicks him.

"Either you're faking it, which I believe you are, or you're much weaker then you look."

"Because I'm starving to death," Flash gets to his feet and tries to explain, "Dude, I'm really sorry. But I saw the way you were treating Maria last night and I won't tolerate it. I couldn't just let her go hungry. And it certainly wasn't right to punish her for the meat I left her."

Eric, who had been suspicious of the Flash, turns bright red.

"That WAS YOU after all! Where's the rest of the meat?"

Flash bits his tough. He just confessed to his 'crime'. Why can't he ever keep his big mouth shut? However, he feels he must fuss up for Maria's sake.

"Well, I sort of...," Flash hesitates, "ate it."

Eric takes out his knife and points it at Flash, "Where are you hiding the rest of it? What did you stash it?"

Flash is flustered, "I told you already Mr. High and Mighty, I ate it all! Except for that little bit I gave Maria. I told you I had a hyper charged metabolism and that I need lots of food. I can't help it."

Eric is in shock, "I don't believe it! How did you possibly consume '40' lbs. of meat?"

"Believe it," says John. John, rather surprised himself at his teammate's behavior, feels very ashamed of the Scarlet Speedster at the moment.

"Easy," replies Flash rather cheekily, "I burn up like 90%, maybe 95, maybe 98% of the food I eat before it ever hits my stomach. I feel like I could eat a whole herd of cattle right now." Flash hugs his stomach, roaring loader than ever, "If you had my metabolism, you'd understand.

"Well then Flash," replies Eric very sternly, "Since you stuffed yourself last night and let the rest of us go hungry, you should be strong enough to take in all of this meat, cut it, and hang it. On top of that, you wouldn't mind skipping dinner tonight either," Eric hold his knife in front of Flash's face, "If you so much attempt to even lick any of the meat, you will be thrown out of the complex. We have no room nor tolerance for "your" type. Do I make myself clear?"

Flash gulps and attempts to run at super speed. Unfortunately, he's too weak to conger up the energy he needs, and the gravity of this place makes it twice as hard as usual. He only makes it a few short yards before he falls flat on his face. Eric gives everyone the warning look that they better not help the Flash or else. Most of them are now angry at the speedster anyway. Karin and Maria, however, ignore the warning and run to help Flash.

John doesn't even move from his spot. In fact John has his head turn away from his teammate.

Karin lifts Flash up and puts his arm around her. Maria helps support him.

"MARIA!" yells Eric at the top of his lungs, "You help him any further I will burn all your books and drawings! And you'll get 40 lashes. Is that clear young lady?" Maria gets nervous. Eric makes good on his threats. Still, she stands her ground doesn't move away from Flash. Eric grabs her arm hard by the arm, yanks her away, and she stumbles to the ground. Dr. Parker calls to her and she runs into his arms.

"ERIC GUNDERSON!" yells Karin, "How dare you treat that child like that!"

"Karin I'm surprised at you!" replies Eric, "Now get away from him!"

"I refuse!"

If Eric could get any angrier, he's head would explode. He grabs Karin by the arm and forces her away from Flash, who wobbles he tries to regain his balance.

"I'll deal with you later Ms. Preus!" He turns back to Flash, "As for you, get to work or I'll throw you out in the desert! That is a PROMISE!"

Flash looks at John for support, "GL! Please buddy, help me out here."

John turns with his arms cross and gives his teammate the ugliest look he's ever given him.

"Do what he says Flash."

Wally can't believe it. With Eric pointing the knife at him, four other angry men surrounding him (all of whom are nearly has bitter and stone-hearted as Eric), and his speed useless, Flash reluctantly starts dragging the kills in. It turns out to be a very long, exhausting, and painfully slow process. Flash tries his conger up his speed a few times to speed the job up, but it is useless. If anybody attempts to assists Flash, Eric slaps his whip and they back off. Maria even tries 3 times to help the speedster, which only leaves her with new fresh, bloody gashes, not even from Eric, but Eric's "right-hand" man.

All the woman and the men who aren't guarding Flash can't bear to watch and leave the scene, John included, believing that Flash deserves the punishment, which he actually considers a form of "light-punishment" compared to what's used in the Green Lantern Training core and throughout the galaxy.

As the minutes, then hours, slowly pass, Flash is feeling weaker and weaker. He is breathing very hard and wobbles while he works. He collapses or nearly collapses several times, but the men make him get up and continue. He can't even manage to even get one tiny lick or scrap of food with Eric's whip in his face and no fewer than 10 angry eyes watching his every move.

After three long hours, Flash finally finishes hanging the last of the meat. He doesn't even know how he managed to get to his room, much less finish the job. He collapses hard on the flat cot with hot tears in his eyes. He feels as if he has no energy left. His stomach feels as if it's volcanic acid burning away at his insides. He's never been THIS hungry ever! His heart rate has slowed considerably. His joints are aching, his body shaking, and his head in unbearable pain. His vision is blurry, speech is slurred, and his mouth feels as it's full of acid. He is also kind of cold and shivering.

The worst part of all, however, is that Wally feels abandon and alone. His family isn't here to comfort him. His teammate, who's supposed to stick with him through thick and thin, life and death, abandoned him and left him to suffer. Wally didn't even think John Stewart was capable of such a thing.

Wally thinks of his family. All of his relatives in Central City are well aware of his superhero escapees and would know well enough to take his super hero life into consideration. However, Wally sees or at least talks to his Mom just about every day and the rest his family on a regular basis. Having not heard from him in nearly two days, they would surely be wondering where he is at this point. His uncle and cousin could cover for him at work, but not for too long.

A little while later, John enters the room. He's still angry at Flash and mentally blocks any sympathy he's feeling for him. In John's mind, Flash deserved every bit of that punishment and he 'shouldn't' feel sorry for him.

Being one who's usually right on or overestimates the seriousness of a situation, John ironically still underestimate's the Scarlett Speedster's metabolism. Wally barely understands his own metabolism, much less somebody in which it defiles all that person's logic and understanding.

"I'm not talking to you," sobs Wally, who has been crying.

John doesn't answer. He just quietly sits on his cot and removes his boots.

"Thanks a lot for sticking up for me out there," adds Flash.

John still doesn't answer. He's trying to not to feel sympathy for Flash.

"You know you could have stood up for me today," sobs Wally, "Instead of looking the other way and agreeing with that jerk. I thought you were better than that."

"Me better than that," John finally speaks up, surprised by that remark, "I thought you were better than THAT. I know you're hungry. What am I a hibernating hermit crab?"

"You sure do act like one."

"Well you're the one who acted like a selfish jerk!" snaps John, "In all the creatures I've seen, I've never seen one act as immature and irrational as you did today. Underneath all that childish exterior, I always thought you had some respect and dignity, but you sure didn't have any today. I guess I was wrong."

"Excuse me!" yells Flash, "How was sticky up for Maria selfish and immature?"

"You shouldn't have eaten all that meat in the first place!" replies John, "You weren't thinking of anyone but yourself. You have no regard for the needs of the team or the whole group. You just selfishly eat everything, ignore your responsibilities, impulsively jump into everything without thinking of the consequences or how they will affect other people, and leave all kind of messes behind that everyone else has to clean up. You're nothing but a childish slacker. A selfish glutton."

Wally can't believe what he just heard. Never in his 20 years has he heard someone said anything so hurtful to him, not even his dad.

"Those things aren't true!" Wally pauses and thinks. Unfortunately, the lantern wasn't entirely wrong, but he wasn't entirely right either.

"Okay, maybe they are to a certain extent, but not the way you just described. I try to go out of my way to help people and make them happy, especially children. I don't know what came over me. I've never acted that way. My head is so screwed. I'm famished, I'm weak, I can't think at all. I'm moody, I'm never moody. I was so mad at the way Eric treated Maria. And talk about being selfish. Don't you think that YOU'RE being a bit selfish JOHN STEWART? You expect me to be some kind of robot solider who obeys your every command without question. You treat everybody like a robot solider, like we don't have any feelings. You have no regard to somebody's individual needs. You don't care about us as people."

It's John's turn to be shocked. "What are you talking about Flash? Don't you dare say I don't care about people or feelings!"

There is no answer. Wally has passed out.

John turns his head and lays down. He recalls the things he just said to Flash and puts his hands over his mouth. He can't believe it. He's never been so harsh to anybody who wasn't a villain, not even raw and stubborn marine or lanterns recruits. He 'DIDN'T' think of the Flash that way, not to that extent. Come to think of it, Flash's behavior is changing. John realizes that Flash has a high metabolism and has seen him eat plenty of times (although he usually looks away from those disturbing sights), but he thought Flash would be able to tough it out like everybody else and that his body would adapt, just like a normal person's would.

Then again, John should never have expected such a thing from the Scarlett Speedster. Flash is very different from anybody he's ever had to deal with before.

Could Flash's hunger really be 'that' serious? It couldn't be. Flash is never serious about anything, expect about food, ladies, and joking around.

Actually, there is something else that the Flash is serious about, trying to be a good friend.

John goes to sleep trying not to think about sympathy for Flash, but deep inside, the proud and hard-to-the-core Green Lantern is starting to regret how he's been treating the Scarlet Speedster.

 **Reviews appreciated.**


	7. Karin and Maria

**Chapter 8-Karin and Maria**

The next morning, Wally is gently shaken awake. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, he's surprised to see Karin kneeling next to him and Maria standing behind her. Both are holding large platters piled high with food. They place the platters next to Flash and without hesitation, he quickly gobbles everything down.

"Got any more?" asks Flash licking the plate.

"Sure do." Karin moves to revile five more plates. Flash inhales the food. There is also a picture of water that Flash gulps down in seconds. Karin smiles as she watches the Flash eat like a ravenous wolf in fast forward.

Finishing all the food, Flash feels just a little bit better than he had the night before and his head is a little clearer. He sits up as both girls smile at him.

"Thanks;" he says smacking his lips, "but won't you two get in trouble for feeding me?"

Karin shakes her head, "Oh I don't care about Eric. I never listen to him anyway. I'm really sorry about him Flash. He wants to believe that he's the ultimate survivor and that the rest of us are helpless kittens who couldn't possibly survive without him. He really wasn't so bad when he first got here. We were so grateful to finally have someone who could actually teach how to survive while having some human dignity again. We were practically mere animals before he got here."

Karin takes a pause before continuing, "As time went by and we became more self-sufficient, however, the worse he became."

Flash is confused by this; "That makes no sense at all. Doesn't he want everybody to take care of themselves? Why is he so mean and heartless?"

Karin kind of shrugs her shoulders, "Pride and ego I guess. And perhaps bitterness. He wants everybody to go begging to him for help, especially me and Maria." Karin looks at Maria with a little smile, "but I'll tell you, I think Maria has develop even greater survival skills then Eric"

"I don't know," replies Maria rather bashfully. She then looks at Flash and smiles shyly, "Hello Mr. Flash. I'm sorry I got you into so much trouble."

Flash is shocked, "Huh? Why are 'you' apologizing? I should be apologizing to you. I'm the one who ate all the meat and got you into trouble."

"If it wasn't for me," replies Maria, "You wouldn't have given me any meat in the first place."

"Now Maria," replies Flash, "That wasn't your fault. I'm sorry for getting 'you' into trouble. Now please don't blame yourself. It was me. So don't worry."

"But you didn't know..."

"That's alright Maria," interrupts Karin, "I'm sure Mr. Flash would love some of your 'you know what.' So why don't you go check on that."

"Yes ma'am," Maria gets up, "I'm sorry again Mr. Flash that you went hungry."

Maria jogs out of the room. Flash is very amused, and worried, at Maria's attitude.

"Man. It wasn't her fault. Way does she act like that?"

"Oh I blame Eric for it," answers Karin, "All he does is strike guilt into her. He always tells her that she's selfish, but she's the least selfish person here might I say."

Flash agrees, "I agree. But how did a sweet little girl like her end up in a place like this? What could Chunk possibly have against a little girl? And where are her parents?"

Karin sighs, "It was an accident actually. She skipped in front of Chunk's black hole. Of course her father ran after her. They got stuck in Chunk's gravity and ended up here. Her Dad died a few years ago, not long after Eric got here. Eric promised to care for her and keep her alive. I've never heard anything about her mother or anyone else."

Flash rolls his eyes, "Well if you ask me, it seems like Eric's trying to starve her to death rather than keep her alive."

"I'm not so sure," replies Karin, "He doesn't make her skip meals to often. He's just trying to get her to grow-up and face reality."

"What reality?" wonders Flash, "Doesn't she have enough reality to face as it is? Why not let her be a kid? Childhood's short enough as it is."

Flash starts to fill woozy again and lays back down. "I know I shouldn't be asking this, but is there any more food? Better yet, I probably should be asking how we get Chunk to take us home and none of us will starve to death anymore."

"Maria is checking on food." says Karin, "As for Chunk taking us home, you can forget that. You can't talk to Chunk. He'll absorb you out of existence."

"Aw come on," says Flash, "Has anyone even tried? It seemed to me that Chunk feels very alone, not any different from the villains I deal with at home. He couldn't be that difficult to talk too. I'll bet all he needs is a friend."

Karin shakes her head, "I don't think so. Look Flash, I think you're a very brave individual, but I don't believe we're ever going to leave this place."

Flash pulls his cover back over him, "I'm not sure about that. I know people who have been in worst situations then this and have gotten out. Besides, we've got some of the best minds in the Justice League. I'm sure Batman and J'onn can find a way to bring us home, if we can't find one ourselves, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't try."

Karin sieges, "I admire your spirit, but please. There is something I want to tell you."

"What?"

"Women are a premilim here, and I shudder to think of what happened to some off the others."

Flash is confused, "What are you talking about?"

"We've talked about this a number of times, our council has," answers Karin, "Sooner or later we'll be forced to pair off. Eric has his eyes on me, and there was talk yesterday that since you're really not that much older than Maria, she could be paired with you when she comes of age."

Flash can't believe what he's hearing, "Huh? What a minute! What do you mean? Whoever said I would..."

Karin puts her figure against Flash's lips, "Shh. I don't want to go with Eric. I'd rather be with you."

Flash is still confused, but smitten, "Really? Well I don't think you have to worry about that."

"I do," Karin leans closer to Flash, "I can give you something; I can give you a lot."

Karin gently kisses Flash on the lips. Confused yet smitten, Wally closes his eyes like out of instinct and returns Karin's kiss. Then the door suddenly opens.

"EXCUSE ME!"

There is Eric in the doorway staring furiously at them. Flash thinks he sees fumes coming out of Eric's ears.

Instead of yelling at them, Eric storms out.

"Great," gasp Flash, "Just great."

"It's none of his business. I told him we were just friends."

Flash shakes a bit, "I don't think he's very happy right now. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to, um...Did you just kiss me?"

"Believe me Flash, he's just using me. He uses everybody." Karin stands up, "And don't tell me you're not interested. I've got some chores to do."

Karin leaves the room; Wally stares awkwardly at her as she walks away. He places his fingers on his lips. He's still a bit confused by what just happened. He didn't see it coming. Sure, he loves to look at women and dreams of them flocking to him like a magnetic and such. He usually tries to avoid women who are already taken, even though Karin says she's not taken, Wally doesn't think that Eric thinks so. If Eric was mad about the 40 lbs. of meat, he'd hate to think how mad Eric will be about this.

Still, the kiss did feel, rather good. And Karin's right, Wally is interested.

Wally feels his head and realizes that he's not wearing his mask.

A few minutes later, Maria returns with a pitcher with the top on.

"Hello Mr. Flash," she greets. She sounds more cheerful then she did just ten minutes ago. She kneels next to Flash, who has put his masks back on.

"Oh, I see you put your mask back on. I love your red hair."

"Oh really?" Flash sounds a little embarrassed, "Well thanks, even if you weren't supposed to see that. No offense, but I like to protect my secret identity."

"Like a secret service agent?" asks Maria.

Flash is amused by her example, "Yea, something like that."

"I love detective stories, especially Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie's Miss Maple"

Flash grinds his teeth at hearing Sherlock Holmes. He remembers the torture of having learn about him in middle school. He never read any of the books he was assigned to read, just rented a couple boring movies on the famous detective so he could turn in a book report on him, which he got an F on.

Wally doesn't have a clue who "Agatha Christie Maple" is and he doesn't care.

Maria offers the pitcher, "Thought you might like this."

Flash accepts the pitcher. He's a bit disappointed that it's not food, but he needs more water as well. Flash can hardly hold what shouldn't be so heavy pitcher and quickly puts it down.

"Open it," urges Maria. Flash removes the top of the pitcher and can't believe his eyes. There in with the water looks like the top of candy bar wrappers. Flash takes one out and it's a Milky Way Bar! Flash can't believe it! He's face beams with joy.

"Thank you!" Flash quickly opens the rapper. The candy bar is all melted and gooey, but Flash doesn't care. He devours the bar then another. He eats about 10 in all. He's body desperately needs the sugar.

Maria herself actually hates chocolate and candy bars, but keeps the stuff around for others.

"You got anymore?" asks Flash licking the chocolate off his fingers.

"In my room," answers Maria.

Flash springs up, he wobbles a bit but adrenaline soon takes over, "Lead the way."

Maria leads Flash to her room. The room is bright and colorful, unlike the rest of the place. The walls are full of colorful drawings and other art work. Maria is a very talented drawer and seems to draw a lot of pictures with people or animals in them, like it was a scene from a story or something. The room is full of books, art supplies, and a few toys, which are amazingly organized. Maria also happens to have a couple of old couch pillows. Flash takes a seat on one.

Maria then grabs a book and hands it to Flash. From the cover, it appears to be an adult fiction book. Flash gives her a wired look.

"Ah, thanks Maria, but I thought you were going to give me more candy."

"Open the book," says Maria. Flash opens the book and is quite surprised indeed. A square has been cut into the pages as if to make it a box, and in this square are jelly beans and skittles. Flash is speechless and gobbles them up.

Maria hands Flash another book which has some hard candy.

"WOW!" exclaims Flash as he sucks on the candy, "Where did you find all this?"

"In cars, lunch boxes, and other things Chunk brings here. He dumps a lot of stuff in the dump. That's where I find all my books and things too."

"Really?" asks Flash, "Why haven't I seen food like this here?"

"It's very dangerous to go to the dump," answers Maria, "That's where the punks hang out."

"Then why do you go there?" asks Flash.

"My curiosity gets the best of me," answers Maria, "I only go right as the sun is going down. That's when the punks are in camp eating dinner and before the nocturnal animals come out."

"The nocturnal animals?" asks Flash a little bewildered, "Does that mean night time animal?"

"Yes."

"Do you share this food with anyone else in the camp?"

"Oh yes," answers Maria, "Just about everyone, as long as Eric and a couple other guys don't find out. They'd just hoard for themselves, and Eric says it's not proper survival technique, but I think he's just jealous he's never found any. I only eat the candy myself in an emergency, like when Eric deprives me of food."

 _So that's how she does it,_ Flash thinks to himself, "Do you use all your books like this?"

"No," says Maria with a little giggles, "Just the ones I don't really care, like horror novels and adult romance. I just love to read! Dr. Parker taught me."

"Hey," exclaims Flash, "We haven't properly met, have we? I'm Flash, the fastest man alive, also known as the Scarlet Speedster and Central City's proud hero." Flash smiles as he says that, "I'm also a member of the Justice League. We're a group of super heroes who joined together to protect the earth. I'm sure you've heard of Superman!"

Maria shakes her head. Flash tells Maria all about the Justice League and its members, all while sucking on candy. Maria listens to every word with interest.

"Really neat," she says, "Do you know Jay Garrick?"

"Who?" ask Flash, confused.

"He's the Flash from World War II."

Flash shakes his head, "No, I've never heard of another Flash besides me. Where did you hear about him?"

Maria gets what looks like a comic book and an old newspaper clipping attached to it. The article speaks of the legend of a heroic speedster who helped troops during the Second World War.

"No," says Flash, "Can't say I have. That really would be something though, if he's real. I just hope he wasn't faster than me."

Just then, the door opens and Dr. Parker comes in.

"Hello Dr. Parker," says both Flash and Maria.

"Hello there," greets Parker, "I'm glad to see you two have finally met."

"Yea I'm glad," agrees Flash, "She's awesome."

"Listen, several of us are going hunting. Why don't you come with us Flash? We could show you around a little and Maria could show you some survival skills. You up to it?"

Flash still feels very weak, but he does feel up to looking for more food.

"Sure am Doc, I mean Doctor."

"Alright then," says Parker, "Let's go."

 **Note: The kissing scene appears in "Flash: The Savage Speedster" issue #10 by Baron, Collins, and Mahlstedt. March, 1988. Some of the original dialogue I used, some I changed slightly. Of course, the scenes with Maria are original.**

 **PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW!**


	8. John's Inner War, Maria's Hope

**Chapter 9-John's Inner War, Maria's Hope**

Flash, Parker, and Maria meet about seven other inhabitants at the front of the complex, including John, Karin and Eric. John is wearing a cloth over his head like the Arabs do in the Middle East to protect his head from the sun.

Flash can't help but laugh. "Hey GL, when did you become a Muslim?"

John just twitches his nose and looks away from Flash, a bit embarrassed. Eric doesn't look pleased that Flash is with Maria, but he doesn't say anything about it. Flash passes John and gives him a smile and a wave, as if their argument from last night never happened.

John doesn't know what to say to Flash. He's still a bit angry and embarrassed at his teammate, but dose feel a little bad at the way he blow up at him last night. Then he finds himself staring at Flash in shock. The Scarlet Speedster is noticeably thinner than he was just two days ago. In fact, Flash looks as if he's lost about 20 or 25 lbs. since their arrival and his costume is baggy. John knows that Flash's metabolism is much faster than any normal person, but it just couldn't be that inhumanly bad. Could it?

John still doesn't know if he should be too concern for Flash or not, despite the obvious weight loss. As the group leaves the complex, Flash seems abnormally weak. His earlier slight energy boost is wearing off. He's actually having trouble keeping up with everyone, something he's not use to at all. He doesn't even attempt to use his speed to keep up. He complains constantly that he's exhausted and needs to rest, but the group just keeps on going. Every now and then, Maria or Karin smuggle small portions of food to him and Karin even allows him to lean on her a couple of times. When a pair of angry eyes would look at them, however, Flash straights back up and continues on his own.

To make matters worse, the sun is very hot and it's bearing down on Wally's already weak body. The air is hot and dry and Wally finds himself gasping for air. He is sweating like a pig and his loose costume is sticking to him. He wants to remove his mask, but he doesn't dare. Wally hasn't removed his clothing nor bathed at all in 3 days and he feels so yucky and miserable. He doesn't want to even think about how bad he must smell.

John struggles not to grow too concern for Flash, despite the fact that he's obviously getting weaker and weaker. John has seen this kind of situation a number of times, too many, but he always has to think about the needs of the team as a whole, not just the needs of one individual. That's what he's been taught, that's how he was trained, and that's how everybody around him (almost always soldiers of some sort) always functioned. That's how John Stewart the solider handles things.

However, the Green Lantern is at war between the solider in him and his growing individual concern for Flash. Sure, Flash annoyed him, "A LOT", but John dose care about him. He is his teammate after all. They've been working together for the past 8 months. Maybe even, maybe John even cared about Flash as a friend of some sorts. Friend? That word is so foreign to John. He's had plenty of comrades, but a friend? Not in a long time, a 'VERY' long time. Flash certainty seems to think they are friends, no matter how many times John's rejected his attempts at friendship.

Should John really have more concern for Flash?

Still, there are 16 other people here who need to eat and stay alive, not just Flash. The rules of soldiering, everyone is a team, a unit, they act as one. Everyone is treated like equals, you don't put someone you care about more over anybody else. Everybody has an equal chance, and nobody gets left behind this way. Surely, Flash's body would adjust. It had too or else all other 16 inhabitants would starve because of him.

 _NO WAY!_ John thinks to himself _, Flash isn't 'that' sick. He's not dying. He's eaten a lot since we've been here. He's fine. He's got plenty of fuel in him._

In spite what he's telling himself, John really isn't believing that.

At one point, Flash tries to stop and plopped down in front of some large rocks, Maria runs to him and says, "No, not there."

"How come," comes Flash's exhausted voice.

"This is a good spot for punks to hide," answers Maria, "We have to get to an open space where they can't hide and ambush us."

Maria helps Flash get back up and they continues on their way. John wonders if he should be helping Flash too. Finally, John gives in to his feelings somewhat and allows Flash to lean on him. Flash gives a weak smile, yet he feels that GL is doing this out of guilt. Wally isn't one who turns down help when he needs it, but he doesn't like anybody to help him out of pity or guilt. However, he's just too weak and exhausted to argue.

John, is in fact, feeling guilty.

After more than an hour journey (which usually takes less 20 minutes), the group finally stops. Flash does everything in his power, which isn't much, to keep himself from collapsing. He plops down on the hard ground and lays there. His mouth is parched with thirst. His stomach isn't demanding food as much as it has been. In fact, his stomach feels quite numb. Wally doesn't know what that means, but he has a feeling that it's not good.

Maria comes over to Flash and hands him a small piece meat, "Are you thirsty?"

"Yes," answers Flash as he scarfs down the meat.

Maria starts sticking the stick she's carrying into the ground. She gets it down deep. She does this over and over again in different spots.

Flash doesn't get it. "What are you doing?"

"This spot is a pound," she answers.

Flash looks around, "There's no water here."

"It fills up with water when it rains."

She stops pressing her stick down deeper and feels for something.

"I think we've got one here." Maria kneels and starts digging. Flash crawls over to see what she's found. Maria pulls out from the hole a large, "extremely" large, sleeping frog and hands it to Flash, who's confused.

"A frog? Am I supposed to eat it?"

Maria takes the frog back and squeezes it. Water squeezes out and she drinks a little. Flash is bewildered as she hands the giant amphibian back to him.

"Drink. It's good."

Overcome with thirst, Flash squeezes the frog and drinks water from it. All the while, the frog remains asleep. This sure is the most bizarre way to get water. Maria then takes the frog back and puts it back into the ground.

"These frogs hibernate most of the year," she explains, "They only come out after it rains. They store their own water to stay alive."

Flash is amazed, "Wow. That's amazing. How can any animal go for an entire year without eating?"

"Some animals hibernate up to seven years or longer."

"I'll pass."

While the rest of party hunts, Maria finds two more frogs for Flash to take drinks from. She shows him how to build a desert fire using dry or dead plants and weeds. Wally dose know how to make a fire somewhat. He learned from family camping trips, (although Wally never really enjoyed camping, except for the food part, of course, and camp fire storytelling). In this desert, however, there aren't any sticks or wood. Maria informs Flash not to throw rocks in the fire as certain ones might explode.

Maria even manages to catch a large rattle snake and cooks it. Wally's sense is far too gone to resists a tempting snake. He's amazed by Maria's survival skills. In fact, she probably could run a wilderness survival training school. Flash doesn't get why Eric insists that he needs to teach Maria how to survive.

While she works, Maria mentions that she feels sorry for Chunk. These are the first words of sympathy Flash has heard for Chunk. He asks her if they ever see or talk to Chunk.

"Rarely;" she answers, "He doesn't come out of that boat much. He must be so lonely. The only time I've really seen him is when I tried getting into his boat. I almost got sucked into that singularity. Chunk rescued me and brought me back."

Flash is amused by this detail, "You say Chunk rescued you?"

Maria nods, "He told me he wished he could take me home, but he didn't know how."

"Really?" Flash sinks into thought while munching on the snake. So Chunk really isn't a bad guy after all! Maria just said Chunk doesn't know how to get them home, but how dose Chunk keep going back?

"How did you manage to get under the fence?"

"I dug a hole and went under," answers Maria, "but the singularity's pull was to strong."

"Hmm," Flash sieges, "Maybe we can figure out another way of getting under the fence."

Maria nods, "I once over heard one of the punk groups talking about a magma chamber that goes underneath Chunk's boat. But I haven't been able to get to the chambers yet to look. Nobody will take me there either."

 _A magma chamber huh?_ Flash thinks to himself. _Now that just might be our ticket into that boat and out of here._

"I'll go with you." Flash then remembers a questions he's been wanting to ask her, "Hey Maria. How old are you?"

Maria sieges, "I think I'm about eight. I could be as young as seven. I haven't known the date in a long time. I had just turned five when I came here."

"You sure do look older than seven;" says Flash. "When was the last time you had a birthday?

Maria just shrugs her shoulders, "Awhile. Everybody's to busy trying to survive to worry about birthdays or any sort of celebrations. We don't even have Christmas."

Flash is shocked by this detail, "No Christmas or birthdays? That's TERRIABLE! When is your birthday?"

Maria gives her date of birth. Flash does the math and is amazed, "Maria, you're almost 10!"

Maria IS surprised, "Really?"

"Well, you will be in 6 1/2 months," corrects Flash, "but you're older then you thought."

"9 years and 5 months?" says Maria happily, "Wow!"

Later, the hunting party starts to move. They haven't had much success aside from a few snakes and lizards. As they make their way around a rocky plateau, Flash nose picks up a faint smell. It smells like something's cooking. His stomach morphs, furiously. Already lagging behind, he drifts away from the group and follows the smell. Maria is the only one who notices and follows him.

The smell leads Flash to a fire pit behind some rocks. He sees meat cooking on over the fire and dashes for it.

"Flash, don't!" yells Maria. But she's too late. A group of six angry men surround Flash and attack.

Flash manages to conjure up some speed punches and knocks down all six men. After, that, however, he has nothing left. The men get back up and start charging again. One of them strikes Flash's right shine with a knife. Blood starts flowing down from his upper leg down his boot. He stumbles to get up and attempts to run away when Maria suddenly jumps in and trips two of the men with her stick. She starts fighting back like a ninja, using her stick as a bow. The grown, angry men now switch their attention to the 9-year-old girl.

"Maria! NO!" Flash tries to run to her, but he can't conjure up anymore super speed and gets hammered in the head from behind. He falls unconscious and Maria is left to fend for herself.

Its several hours later when Wally finally comes to. He slowly opens his eyes. He's head in still hammering with pain and can barely lift it. When his fuzzy blurry vision finally clears enough to see that he is back inside one of the complex shelters, he remembers the fight and immediately thinks of Maria. He springs up, than falls off, the table he didn't realize he was on. He tries again to get up, needing the table for support. Wally forgot about his injured shin and as soon as he puts weight on it, he feels a hot, burning pain and is forced to sit back down on the table. His right boot is off and his shin is bandaged. He sees his boot next to him on the table. He struggles to put if back on, feeling it would give his leg more support. He's not sure if a bone in his shin is injured or not. Without the fuel he body so desperately needs, Wally's shin won't heal quickly like it normally would.

Wally then feels the hammering pain in his head again. He lays part of the way down and places his head in his hand. It's then he realizes his mask is once again removed and his head is bandaged. Out of instinct, he puts it back on, but he's thoughts are now just too fuzzy to really care if anybody has seen him.

Loud footsteps come thundering down the hall and Eric storms in. Flash is relieved to see him, "Eric, how's Maria?" But instead of answering, Eric storms over to Flash and hits him hard in the head with the metal end of a spear. Flash tumbles of the table.

"OFF ALL THE STUPID, GLUTTIOUS ACTS!" hollers Eric, "First you make moves on my girlfriend, and now you almost got Maria killed!"

Flash is shocked, "What do you mean? She put the moves on me! And Maria, how is she? Please tell me."

"As if a stupid, dumbfounded, greedy glutton like you would care! I never wanted Maria to hang out with you to begin with. But NO! I had to listen again to Karin and Parker! I've listened to them one to many times!"

"How DARE you call me a greedy glutton!" yells Flash trying to get up with no success, "Dude, I'm sorry. I'm really am. I'm so famished I snapped. But I didn't know it was dangerous and I certainly didn't know Maria was following me."

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" screams Eric right in Flash's face, "I've had it with you. A hero back home. HA! You are the most pathetic individual I have EVER met! You've had your chance! As soon as you can get up, I want you out of this complex! You're no longer welcome here!"

Wally can't believe it, not even for a second. Surely, Eric was bluffing.

"Oh I get it," says Flash, again attempting to get up using the table for support, "You're angry about Maria and Karin. I understand. You're just bluffing right now."

Eric just can't believe at how stupid Flash is, "If you aren't the stupidest individual I've ever meet. GET OUT! NOW!"

Eric flashes the sharp tip of the spear in Flash's face, the tip actually touching his skin. Flash shakes uncontrollably with fear. Eric really isn't kidding.

Flash slowly backs away, "Just wait until GL hears about this. You'll be sorry."

"GL? Oh your pal," sneers Eric, "As if he'd take up for you. He's ashamed to ever have known you."

"WHAT?" yells Flash not believing his ears, "You repeat that to him."

"Oh I didn't say it," replies Eric, "He said it last night. Ask him."

Eric storms away. Of all the things to say to a person. There is no way GL could be ashamed of Flash. John's his friend and has always had his back, even though he often acted like he didn't want the Scarlet Speedster around, Flash knows that John would never be ashamed of him.

Flash leaves the room, leaning on the wall for support. He's so weak now he can barely stand. Flash has to inch his way slowly against the wall. He's stomach feels so numb, like it's suddenly immune to pain, but Wally feels body is growing even weaker. It's hurting to even have his eyes open now. He can't hold his head up. He's whole body is shaking and trembling. His mouth feels like its drooling acid. He's body feels like it's in need of relief from the pain in the worst possible way but none is in sight.

After managing to get to a corner, Wally's body gives out and he collapses to the floor. He looks up to see coming from the opposite direction, despite his blurry vision no other than John.

"GL," calls out Flash in a rather weak voice. John flashes around, staring at Flash. His eyes are full of anger. He's never felt so angry at anyone who wasn't an enemy. While only anger shows in his face and his eyes, inside, John is in total shocked by Flash's now even scrawnier frame. Still, John Stewart the solider wins out.

"Do you mind telling me what was going through your mind?" asks John in an angry tone.

Flash feels a little angry himself. His stomach boils up, "HUNGER! That's what was going through my mind. Hunger!"

"So you put yourself and everyone else in danger because of your stomach?" scrawls John.

"I didn't mean too!"

"You never mean too!" says John, "But you do put us in danger. You put everyone in danger. Your actions almost got a little girl killed! And making moves on a spoken for woman. You don't think of anything other than getting the glory or meeting your own needs. You're the most self-centered teammate I've ever had."

"I beg your pardon!" yells Flash, "She put the moves on...oh never mind!"

John turns away, "Get out of my sight!"

Flash's mouth drops wide open. He can feel hot tears forming in his eyes, "So you really are ashamed of me? Is that how you feel?"

John's anger has gotten the best of him, "I sure did feel it last night," he admits.

Hot tears fall down Flash's face, "So it's true! You are ashamed of me."

Flash notices a screw on the floor. He picks it up and throws it at John, hitting him on the back of the head. John turns in fury. Somehow, Flash manages to get up without support.

"I'll get out your way John Stewart! Great Green Lantern. I know when I'm not wanted."

Flash zips out at super speed, his anger, embarrassment, and sadness all fueling him, leaving wind gust behind. After the gust dies down, all of John's emotions let out. He pops his hand over his mouth. He can't believe what just came out of it. He did it again, he let his anger get the best of him. He lost all his cool because he was angry and worried about Flash, about Maria, all that has happened, and the situation they are in all at the same time, and he took it all out on Flash. Of all the anger he'd been feeling towards Flash, he didn't want Flash to leave. He's never wanted Flash to leave.

Looking at Flash just now, how thin and weak he looked, and he was noticeably growing weaker right there in front of John. No, Flash really wasn't kidding at all. He really is quickly starving to death. John really has been blind. He buries his faces in his hands and bangs on the wall. All he's done since they've been here, since the league formed eight months ago, is talk down on Flash. Yet every time John, and the team, really needed Flash, he was there. Even if he sometimes made the situation worse, he was there ready and always had their backs, had John's back. Now Flash needed him in the worst way. And what has John done?

"What have I done? What have I done?"


	9. Meanwhile Back Home

**Chapter 10-Meanwhile Back Home**

It has been over two days since John and Flash disappeared. Hawkgirl and Diana are both sitting in the Watchtower kitchen, each with a drink in hand, Diana an ice mocha, Hawkgirl a chocolate milkshake. Neither, however, can bring themselves to drink. Both drinks reminded them of Flash. Flash had introduced Diana to ice mochas the day the league officially formed. Despite this, Diana wasn't too fond of Flash at first. He was always flirting with her and saying stupid things. He tried to "educate" her on the ways of Man's World, from his perspective that is, most of the information he'd given her she found to be quite inaccurate. Diana found him immature, irresponsible, and just plain silly.

Yet even she had to admit from the beginning, the Flash did have a good heart.

Over past few months, Diana's opinion of Flash has slowly started to change. She still finds him immature and irresponsible most of the time, but he really does try to treat her with respect. He has always treated Diana with kindness even after she would treat him like dirt, and always greeted her with a smile (and a joke). Diana really has developed a new level of respect and even fondness for Flash since she was banished from her home of Themyscira (for bringing her male teammates to the island so they could save her mother and sisters). First, Flash stood up for her as she was being banished. Then in the days and weeks that followed, Flash went out of his way to comfort the Amazon Princess and make her laugh. He really was serious about making Diana feel welcomed in Man's World and making her feel at home.

Even though she still doesn't feel at home in Man's World, she wouldn't want to go through it without Flash.

Diana isn't as close to John Stewart. When she first arrived, he treated her like a well-meaning amateur despite her warrior skills and competence. His hard-nose, insensitive attitude fueled Diana's belief that men were egotistical and dominate. As she has worked with him over the months, however, both have gain much more respect for each other. John treats Diana more like an equal, and Diana can see the noble qualities and dedication towards goodness in the Green Lantern.

While she hasn't formed the kind of friendship with John as she has with Flash, Diana still cares about John and the fact that he's missing without a word.

Staring at her milkshake in front of her, Hawkgirl is also reminded of Flash. The Scarlet Speedster loves chocolate milkshakes as much as he loves iced mocha, and the two of them sometimes chatted over milkshakes and a slice of apple pie (or in Flash's case, a whole pie or two, with heaps of ice cream on top). Hawkgirl had met the Flash a few times before the league formed, but she didn't know him that well. Like most, she found the Flash immature, silly, and sometimes incompetent, but she did have some respect for him as a hero. His ways of dealing with villains are so unorthodox. Sometimes they don't work and caused trouble, yet sometimes they actually did.

Now that respect has grown into some sort of sister-brother type friendship.

Even though Lenient Shayera Hol has been living on Earth for nearly 4 years, she still hadn't allowed herself to bond with anybody on the alien planet and tried to stay on the outside looking in. When the League formed 8 months ago, as it was her mission to protect Earth, it was only natural that Hawkgirl agreed to join. What she didn't expect was to form two very unique bonds with her now two missing teammates.

Even though Hawkgirl found the Scarlet Speedster as immature and annoying as the others at times, there was something so genuine about Flash that Hawkgirl has rarely seen. In the way he persisted to be friends with everyone, in the way he could easily forgive people and give them another chance, in his optimism and friendly, yet still down to earth demure. Even though she tried to keep him at arm's length, Hawkgirl was soon captivated by Flash's genuine friendship, something she really was not accustomed to back on Thanagar. Flash wanted to be friends simply for the sake of being friends. He believes teammate should be friends, not just business like. This kind of friendship is new to Hawkgirl.

Now that Flash is missing, Hawkgirl feels some sort of heart ache, a personal worry for a friend, something she has rarely felt even on Thanagar.

Hawkgirl is about as worried for Green Lantern as she is Flash. Her relationship with John reminds her a lot of the relationships she had on Thanagar, the very love/hate kind. This relationship, however, is also different. Although the two of them are both soldiers, they both have different military tactics and fighting styles, and they often butted heads over how to handle things. Still, the fact they both are warriors, fighting on the side of good, and have both spent long periods of time away from home and seeing many different worlds and tragedies, seems to bond together in a way that only the two of them could understand. Both are lonely and longing to reach out to someone, and Hawkgirl feels this even more since their journey to War World.

Shayera just hopes that she and John don't get "too" close. That would be a disaster.

Over the past two days, J'onn has worked night and day analyzing Batman's information. J'onn's own concern about his two missing teammates, the fear of possibly losing two of the people who have taken him in and become his new family, has further fueled his dedication. J'onn needs less sleep them humans, so it's been much easier for him to stay awake and work. Batman and Superman check in on a regular basis for answers and updates.

After two days of tearless analyzing, J'onn calls the team together.

"Based on Batman's notes, the notes of Chester P. Runk, and my own knowledge of physics, I've concluded that the physics of this matter transporter, when merged with just the right kind of gravitational force and disturbance, can create a singularity, possibly even a tunnel to another dimension. We would need this invention of his to open the right portal to where he's taken Green Lantern and Flash."

"We have his notes right?" ask Hawkgirl, "Could we build another machine like it."

"I possibly could," answers J'onn, "But it would take me several days, perhaps longer."

"Even with my help," adds Batman, "And we'd still need to create the right gravitation force, which is extremely difficult and dangerous to do."

"Attempting to create a gravitational force like that," informs Superman, "Could destroy this entire planet!"

"Then what do we do?" ask Diana, concerned.

"Somehow," says Batman, "Chunk seems to contain this gravitational force around himself. Exactly how he does this I'm not certain. Traveling back and forth with that matter transporter should have killed him long ago."

"Not unless he has somehow merged with it," says J'onn.

"Merged with it," says Superman alarmed, "But that would turn him into a..."

"Walking singularity," finishes Batman, "That could explain why he attacks places with dense minerals. That must be what he needs to feed it."

"This is all fascinating," says Hawkgirl, "but how do we bring do we bring Flash and GL back?"

"We can try finding Chunk again," suggest Batman, "Unfortunately, that last strike seems to be his last in Gotham. He follows a pattern of a star, like the Star of David. When he hits the last point on that star, however, he moves to another city in a completely different location. I've yet to determine his pattern for that. I should also point out that in some of the locations where I've confirm he's struck, some people were reported missing at precisely that very time period, possibly consumed by his portal. Some have missing for years."

"Even if we do find him," informs Diana, "We'd need to stay away from his gravity pull or we'll end up where ever Flash and Lantern are."

"Then how do we rescue them?" demands Hawkgirl, the worry in her voice now evident, "I want them back, now!" She slams her fist on the table.

"Calm down," orders Batman, "I know somebody in Boston who may be able to help us. In the meantime, we must keep an ear and eye open for any disturbances anywhere that fit Chunk's signs. If I can pick up his pattern again, maybe we can intercept him."

"I hope we can bring them home soon," says Hawkgirl, "Who knows what kind of dimension GL and Flash are in. I sure hope they are alright. They'd better be."

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 _Back In Wasteland_

John stops banging his head. He knows it's his fault that Flash ran off. He should have been more considerate towards his younger teammate. John had tried so hard to equally consider everyone and look out for the best of the whole group, acting like he always has in situations like this, like how he was trained to act. None of his comrades in the past, however, had such a tremendous need for food like Flash does. But Flash was more than just a well-meaning amateur with a tremendous metabolism, he's John's teammate, a brother in battle, more so then any other Green Lantern or marine comrade has ever been. Maybe even, a friend.

YES A FRIEND! A friend whom John has been rejecting because he can't understand. He's never really tried to understand him. Even in the awful condition Flash was in, he was still very optimistic. John wished he had just a little bit of that optimism. In fact, he really wishes now he had accepted Flash's never ending attempts at friendship. Maybe the way Flash always drove John insane is partly his own fault as well.

A door opens and Maria stumbles out hopping on her left leg, the other leg set and heavily bandaged. Her left arm is also bandaged and in a sling, making balance difficult.

"Maria," says John, "What are you doing out here? You're supposed to be resting."

"What happened? Did you send Flash away?" Maria had obviously heard the argument.

"I didn't mean too," answers John. Now he was saying it, what Flash always said when he made mistakes. John doesn't admit his own mistakes very often, one of the hardest things for him to do.

"You're right Maria," admits John shamefully, "I did sent Flash away, and I'm going to bring my buddy back."

John realizes that he just said his "buddy". Yes, Flash truly is his buddy. Maybe even his best friend, the first one John's had since childhood. It is true, no one has ever tried to be more of a friend to him then the Flash.

After all this time, John's finally realizes that. He burst out of the building and gets ready to activate his ring.

"Where do you think you're going?" comes Eric's voice.

"I'm going to find my buddy," answers John.

"You're going to find that reject?" yells Eric.

John is shocked. Of all things, Flash is no reject! He punches Eric hard in the face.

"Yes, I'm going to find him. If you have a problem with it, then fine."

"If you go after that reject," says Eric sternly, "You won't be allowed back in here either."

"Then so be it." John flies away.

Eric shakes his head as Maria stumbles out of the door. "Eric!"

"Maria! Get back in there before I break your other leg."

"But there's something you must know."

Eric takes out his whip, "Back to your room, NOW!"

Maria refuses to move. Eric's eyes start to flume. Then somebody snatches the whip from him. It is Karin. Dr. Parker is next to her.

"I'd listen to her if I were you, Eric Gunderson."

Eric is offended and wrestles Karin for the whip, "You're next Karin Preus!"

"That's enough!" Dr. Parker snatches the whip. "In case you haven't noticed Eric, Maria is the most skilled and mature member here. And as much I don't like using force, you're a grown man Eric Gunderson, and I will use your own whip on you myself. True, we couldn't have survived the way we have for so long without you. We really do appreciate all you've done for us, but that never meant you were supposed to become an iron fists dictator and treat us like we were your inferior subjects. Now, Maria has something to say. If you don't shut up and listen to her, you'll be the one with two broken legs my friend."

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Wally comes to with his face buried in sand. He had collapsed after that last drill of super speed. He spits the sand from his mouth and slowly struggles to lift his head up. His vision has never been so blurry. He can't really make out where he is, but it is scorching hot and he can that he is sandwiched between two flows of lava.

Wally attempts to get up, but he can't. He can't even lift up to his hands and knees to crawl. He can barely left his head, and he's so woozy it hurts for him to even have his eyes open. His belly feels numb and sunken. He's breathing is slow and shallow, and his heart feels painfully slow and severely overworked.

Wally lays his head back down. He can't think at all. All he wants is something on his stomach. He doesn't care what it is. Even sand. So he licks sand off the ground. Soon, his hand feels like it's starting to burn. Flash quickly moves his hand and realizes that the lava was just inches from him. He looks up and notices a large hole, maybe a cave, not to far away. He scoots towards the hole like a weak newborn kitten. After a long and slow attempt, he finally reaches the hole which seems like a cave, and somehow managed to keep from touching the lava in the process.

At the cave entrance, Wally sees some things sticking out of the ground, maybe mushrooms or some kind of plant. He picks one and shoves it into his month, then another, and another, and so on.

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John is worried. He's been searching by are for nearly half an hour and still no sign of Flash. Not only that, his power ring is fading. He knew this when he took off, but finding Flash is an ultimate emergency he'd gladly risks using up all his power for. Maybe he should had considered risking his power by trying to get to Chunk's boat, like Flash suggested when they first got here. Maybe, just a small maybe, on the outside chance, it might have worked.

John lands on a rocky plateau with a good view to look. Within minutes, John notices a large group of those pterodactyl birds circling around the same spot, like vultures do waiting for an animal to die. John gets a sick feeling in his stomach about this.

He activates his ring again, but the power is fading, "Come on don't fail me now." He gets enough power to get into the air, but is fading fast. He almost makes it to the location when his ring gives out altogether, and he falls to the ground. Fortunately, he lands on top of a large sand dome and tumbles, stopping real close to where the birds are circling. Something red laying on the ground confirms his worst fear.

 **Reviews really appreciated!**


	10. Hang on Flash

**Chapter 10-Hang on Flash**

John keeps running towards where Flash is, who is trapped in between two slow moving lava streams. Without his power ring, John has to find another way to get across. He finds some large rocks, one of which might be large enough to hold up long enough for him to use as a stump. He gets behind the rock and pushes. The rock gets loose enough to rolls into the lava stream, but is melting fast. John jumps for it, lands one footed on the wobbly rock, holds his breath as he makes a second jump, and manages to land face first in the sand without touching the lava.

John gets up and runs towards Flash. The birds are still circling him, some hovering just a few feet above him waiting impatiently for their meal. John starts picking up rocks and throws them at the flying creatures.

"Get away from him! Get out of here you buzzards!"

After several minutes, John manages to scare the creatures away. He runs towards Flash and is horrified by what he finds. Flash is lying unconscious in the sand. Mushroom stumps and pieces are right next his face, as well as around his mouth. John notices that they are the same poisonous mushrooms that Eric warned about, and from the looks of it, Flash has ate quite a bit. John turns Flash onto his back and lifts his head slightly.

"Flash, Flash. Do you hear me buddy? Flash!"

Flash doesn't respond. He looks even more emancipated then before. His breathing is very shallow. His face is very pale, almost ghostly white, as well as flushed. He is sweating and his body is shaking. His stomach is very sunken and his rib cage is poking out. His heart rate is near that of a normal person, which for Flash, is very dangerous. Although John wants to respect his buddy's privacy, he raises Flash's mask just enough to look at his eyes, which are part sunken and part dark and puffy. He feels the young man's cheeks and forehead, which are quite hot. His insides are making terrible grunting noises.

Resetting the mask to its proper place, John stares at the speedster. Tears are forming in the eyes of the normally tough as steel Green Lantern. He hasn't been so emotional in years. He feels as if he's looking at his dying kid brother, and he helped contribute to this.

"Flash, please wake. I'm sorry buddy. I'm so sorry. Can you ever forgive me?"

John looks up and whispers a prayer; "God, I am so sorry for letting this happen. So sorry that I haven't been more understanding. Please do not let Flash die."

John composes himself. He must figure out how to keep Flash alive. First there was the matter of the mushroom poisoning. Normally, it takes a couple days for the poison to take effect, but with Flash's metabolism, it already has. Flash could probably survive a good amount of poisoning due to his metabolism, but John doesn't know how much poison Flash consumed nor how effective his metabolism could be, especially since it is now in starvation mode.

The only treatment John can provide is to induce vomiting. He lifts Flash up to a sitting position and sticks his fingers down the young man's throat. After a few failed attempts, he succeeds at getting Flash to vomit, but the vomit is all liquidity and thin, like thin clay. There is no traces of mushroom particles at all, but evidence that Flash had consumed sand. This horrifies the Lantern even more.

John picks up the emancipated speedster and takes him a little further inside the cave, just enough for adequate shelter but close enough to the entrance for plenty of light to shine in. If they were anywhere else in this barren land on their own, they might stand no chance at all. By some fortunate luck (though John doesn't believe in luck), Flash ended up next to a magma chamber. Not only is there instance shelter, but water tended to collect in chambers such as this. Water is the next thing John must find. Flash is clearly dehydrated, especially after the induced vomiting. Getting water into his system would also help flush the poison out better.

John pats down a place in the sand next to the wall and lays Flash down. Looking around the cave, John sees tiny series of plants growing in and around the entrance, the kind which would need a water source to thieve. He kneels on the brittle ground, digs a little, and gently presses. Water flows right to the surface. John is so relieved! Carving soft rock into a cup, John fills it with water, walks back over to Flash, gently lifts the head a little, pours the water down Flash's cotton dry throat, then repeats the process. He dose the over and over again. All the while, Flash remains unconscious and unresponsive. He might be in a coma.

After what must have been an hour, Flash's mouth is getting moist again. John drinks some water himself. He is getting tired, but he can't rest now. After a few more drinks, Flash's vital signs have improved a little and the flush look on his face has lessen. He still feels a little warm, but not as warm as before, and the sweating has stopped. It looks as if the poison is flushing out of Flash's system.

Satisfied that Flash is out of immediate danger for now, John turns his focus on the much more difficult tasks, finding food. Not just finding food, but finding enough to keep Flash alive. John doesn't know how much nutrients Flash needs, only that it's massive amounts. There are some insects roaming around the cave, mostly scorpions, but these couldn't be enough to keep Flash alive. John starts looking under rocks and holes. He finds a 4 foot snake and a few large rodents, killing them with sharp rocks and stones.

John then remembers that he had knocked down some of those pterodactyl birds with rocks earlier. He decides to see if any of them were still lingering. He goes a little way from the cave entrance, not wanting to leave Flash alone for too long, and finds one bird dead and another one struggling. John brings them back to the cave, rustles up a fire, and soon meat is cooking. John has to force feed Flash small chunks of meat by placing it in the back of his throat and inducing him to swallow. He also has Flash drink the broth. This is a much slower place then Wally is used to, but John can't go any faster. Since the speedster's starved, sunken stomach has hardly felt food on it in over 3 days, probably equaled to several weeks to a normal person, John knows that he can't feed Flash too much too fast, but feeding him as fast as he could with a small piece of meat every minute or two probably equals the right kind of slow and steady pace for the scarlet speedster.

Every now and then, John talks to Flash' hoping for a response. Still, nothing, except for some gasps and groans.

John continues this pace for several hours, ignoring his own hunger in the process. Eventually he would have to intake some food himself to keep up his strength, just not now. He's long worn out, at one point even collapsing. The sun had been setting the last John knew. When he came to, it was dark and the fire was out. With just barely enough moonlight shining in to see what he's doing, John restarts the fire and resuming the feeding. The last of meat and broth is soon gone.

Although it not cold, Wally's shivering. This is due to his body not having enough energy to produce heat. John builds another fire right next to Flash and covers him with as much sand as possible to keep him warm. Knowing that he wouldn't be able to resuming hunting until morning, John is reduced to feeding Flash bugs in the cave. Initially disgusted by this fact, John knew that bugs were actually a good source of protein and currently critically to he's buddy's survival.

Although John would work just as hard to keep anybody alive, keeping the Flash alive has become very personal to him. No matter how nasty John could be or how stupid and incompetent Flash usually was, he was always kind hearted, down to earth, and friendly. He always had their backs, or at least tried to. He was always willing to risk his life for them and for their enemies. He was never willing to leave anyone behind no matter what, and always tried to be a true friend.

Why is Flash so kind and persistent towards people who aren't kind in return and who give him the cold shoulder. Maybe it's his child-like faith and trust. Maybe it's his innocence. Maybe it's his heart. Whatever it is, John would like to know how he could feel that way just a little bit. Flash was like his perfect balance, his ying and yang, his oil and vinegar. They go together, but they don't mix. Maybe that is why Flash is in the league. While his speed is an assist, maybe it's his character and heart that made him more essential to the league.

John also knows that Flash has a family back home. He has often mention his mom and a Grammy Flash, although he always refereed to the latter in past tense. He has mention a grandfather, an aunt and an uncle and more than one cousin. Flash claims to be keeping his identity secret and John finds it strange that he would often say his mom says this or his cousin did that, but he never gives personal details about them. That was one thing he was real careful about. While John really respects those who keep secret identities, he's really wishing right now that he did know Flash's real name, just in cause Flash didn't make it, which John knows will happen soon unless they can get out of this barren land.

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While Wally is unconscious, all he's dreaming about are nice things. He's dreaming about food of course, all his favorites, mostly junk food and desserts. He dreams of his family, especially his mom and beloved grandma, and of things that make him laugh and feel good. He dreams of his friends, and he has many; childhood friends, long-time friends, and more recent friends, including each of his Justice League teammates. He's not dreaming of anything negative; not his fears that sometimes creep into his dreams, certainty not of he's current situation. It is the way Wally's brain and spirit are dealing cooping in his nearly coma state. This is the way Wally's brain and spirit work.

At one point, Wally sees bright lights, brighter than he's ever seen. Could these be he lights of heaven? He thinks he sees his deceased grandparents, including his Granny Nadine, whom he refers to as Grammy Flash when in costume. He also thinks he sees the face of Jesus, who reaches out to Wally and tells him in a still, small voice, to hold on. He'll be alright, just keep holding on.

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Dawn finally breaks the horizon. John has been feeding Flash bugs non-stop for hours. His vital signs have only slightly improved. John has to find more food, but he doesn't know how long he can keep this up. Using stones and rocks, John builds a wall around Flash and damps the fire slightly to protect him. He leaves the cave and spends the next 3 hours hunting, but all he can manage to get is a few small lizards and rodents. Hunger is starting to catch to John as well, but he won't eat just yet.

John makes it back to the cave, exhausted to the point that he collapses next to Flash. It isn't long, however, that he is up again, cooking, and feeding. Soon, all this food is gone as well and he has seemly depleted the cave of any insects and rodents. John is too exhausted to do anymore hunting right now, and he's at a lost as to what to do. Flash's vitals are once again fainting, and the green lantern lets go of all his emotions. He really wishes that manana would rain down from heaven, like it did for the Israelites in the wilderness.

Just then, a loud crash is heard from a little further in the cave. John makes a torch and investigates. He finds a large stone laying on the ground, revealing a man size hole. John looks inside and he can't believe what he sees. Inside this hole is dozens of jars filled with what looks like honey and jam, and packages of crackers.

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Back at the complex, two scouts return from scouting and report to Dr. Parker and Eric what they found out.

"I'm afraid what Maria said was true. The gangs are planning on banding together to attack us. And you didn't believe her Eric."

"What was I supposed to assume?" replies Eric, "A punk casually telling her that they're coming for us while he was beating her? That didn't make any sense to me."

"Well he must her have," replies the other man, "I don't know when they're planning to attack, but they're after our women! Maria's been warning us that something was up for weeks, but I didn't want to take her seriously either."

"Neither did I," adds another, "I don't think any of us wanted to believe her."

"Well that's what happens when we all assume she's too young to know better or that it's just her imagination," adds Dr. Parker, "Even I had my doubts about what she said she was hearing out there. They have their own women, so I couldn't imagine why they'd want ours. And I'm a psychologist."

"Karin believed her," says Eric, shamefully, "She believed her all along. I should have known. Their women are trashy. They're probably tired of them. So now they want ours. I'll kill them! I'll kill all of them!"

"You shouldn't have sent John and Flash away," Parker tells Eric, "They could have been a big help to us."

"It doesn't matter," replies Eric, "It's hopeless anyway. But I won't go down without a fight. I'm a solider and I'll go down defending my girls. I won't be remember as a coward, but as the warrior I am."

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Wally slowly regains consciousness. He can feel the sweet taste of chocolate and honey in his mouth. Occasionally, he tries to open his eyes, but just closes them again. He's vision is to blurry to see anything, and he's so tired.

Wally's really at a lost as to what's going on. At the moment, he doesn't remember what happened. He's just enjoying this sweet substance that's being poured down his throat.

John carefully pours the honey-like substance down Flash's throat, succeeding in getting most of it into his mouth. The substance taste like a cross between honey and chocolate. It's very, very sweet, too sweet for John's taste. The jams are also awfully sweet, and not any fruit taste that John recognizes. However, after feeding a couple dozen jars to Flash, John did intake a little of the food himself, just enough to keep his strength up somewhat. He'll be no good to Flash if he gets too weak.

The crackers John found are very stale and hard to bit into. They are about as bad as hardtack. John has to soak them in water for some time, then cook them over the fire. This will leave the crackers very chewy and hard to swallow, but it's better than trying to eat them hard. Flash will have to be fully awake and able to chew before he can eat any of these hardtack.

Whoever this food belongs to, John knows they will be very angry when they discover they're food has been stolen, but John has no choice. For once in his life, John can't come up with a plan as to what to do next once Flash regains consciousness and all this food runs out, and he really can't focus on it neither. As crazy as this may be, maybe they should go to Chuck's boat on their own, which John realizes isn't that far away. Though what they'll do when they get there, he has no idea.

And will Flash even regain enough strength to make that journey? John might need to carry him. Unfortunately, he's light enough.

As John pours the next jar down Wally's throat, the speedster coughs, sneezes, then start to slowly open his eyes. John gently shakes Flash and speaks to him, "Flash, buddy, can you hear me?"

Wally dose hear the voice. He weakly turns his head towards it.

"Mom," says Wally, weakly.

"No hotshot. It's me, GL."

"GL? Is that you?"

 **I'd really appreciate more reviews. Thanks**


	11. Bonding

**Chapter 11-Bonding**

Flash alternates between nearly asleep and mostly awake. He is now covered with a warm blanket and his head is resting on a pillow that John found in the pantry hole. Flash is dazed and confused, and pretty much can only see the soft glow of the fire and just barely making out John's outline. He still has no memory of their argument, nor where he is or how he got there. He hasn't regained enough strength to lift his head, much less feed himself. He keeps trying to talk, mostly asking for more food, and complementing on how yummy this chocolate-honey substance and jams are.

As Wally's mind is trying to clear up and make sense, he keeps asking lots of questions: Where are they? How did they get there? Why is it so dark? Where are the others? How's Maria? Have they been recused? Have they found Chunk yet? And so on, over and over again. Most of the subject matters are scattered about and running together, resulting in confusing questions. John tries his best to gently and patiently answer and re-answer each question, along with urging the speedster to stop talking and babbling so much.

"Flash, you're only wasting energy and breath."

"Please GL," replies Flash weakly, "I need to talk. The silence is driving me crazy. Hey, why have you stopped feeding me? I'm still starving."

John exhales slowly and sticks another cracker into Flash's mouth. He manages to get them soft and wet enough to where Flash can pretty much just swallow them. After a while, Flash actually notices and complains about the yucky, bland, wet powder taste, so John mixes them with the sweet substances.

"How's Maria? You said she's ok, didn't you?" asks Flash for about the 20th time.

John nods, "Yes hotshot, she's fine. A little beat up, but fine."

A somber look appears on Flash's face. This time, the answer sticks with him. "I hope she'll forgive me. I didn't mean to put her in danger. What exactly was it I did again? I forgot. Where is everybody else? Why are we here? I'm so confused."

Tears are once again forming in Flash's eyes. John's trying his best to comfort him, "She forgives you. I do too."

John then exhales heavily, and musters up some courage, "Flash, I sure hope you can forgive me. But I'll understand if you don't. I'm really sorry hotshot."

At first, Flash is confused, "What are you talking GL? Sorry about what? And why have you stopped feeding me again?" As Wally wonders what his teammate is talking about, he suddenly remembers.

"Oh," says Flash as an even more somber look appears on his face, "I remember now."

Flash remains quiet and in deep thought. John feels very uneasy. He hadn't realized that Flash hadn't remembered what had happened, but now he just un-intently reminded him. He wonders what his teammate is thinking. Feeling ever so remorseful, John gently grabs another jar and presses it towards Flash's lips.

"I really am sorry buddy. I didn't even try to understand you or your hunger. You were right, I was wrong."

Flash, sucking down the honey, can't believe what he's hearing. Or can he? Did the great and glorious Green Lantern just tell him that he, the simple-minded and implosive Wally West, was "right", and that "John Stewart" was wrong?

"How do those words feel coming out of your mouth?" Flash asks, a humorous tone returning to his voice.

John is trying to swallow his broken pride, "Like acid."

"Good," replies Flash with a little chuckle, "Say it one more time."

John feels that Flash is trying to torment him, but he guess he deserves it, "You were right and I was wrong."

A little smile appears on Flash's face, "Good. That's music to my ears. Now you know how I feel all the time."

John shamefully nods his head, "Yea I know."

Wally knows that John means it. No point in staying angry with him any longer. Anger is such a waste of time and energy, in Wally's opinion.

"I forgive you buddy, as long as you forgive me too."

John can't help but agree.

A little while later, John is getting very exhausted and has all but collapsed. Wally notices this. Despite still being weaker than a newborn kitten and knowing he shouldn't take a break from nourishment, he suggest that John lay down and get some rest.

"Are you sure hotshot? You're still extremely weak."

"I know;" Flash stumbles to get those words out; "I can't even begin to tell you how famished I still am. But I'm not the only here. You need to rest too."

Wally does feel a bit at war with himself for saying that. He wants to keep eating more than anything, but as John told him before, he's not the only one who needs to survive. Besides, he's really genuinely concerned for his friend.

John knows he needs to rest, and he's reluctant to tell Flash that the food supply is starting to run low, but he decides feed him 4 more jars and crackers before he lays down next to him. Wally thinks he can make it a few hours without slipping into another coma, though it does nothing to ease the burning hunger pangs, which have revived now that his had some food flowing in his system and his stomach is no longer numb, which is actually a good thing.

As the two friends and teammates lay next to each other, they talk. Despite everything he's been through, Wally's still very optimistic, and his normal light-heartedness has returned somewhat, especially now knowing that he and John have patched things up.

"Tell me something about yourself GL, something personal that I may be surprised to know about you."

This really catches John off guard. He never really talks about himself, especially personal stuff. However, after some urging from Flash, he gives in and answers, "I like to read comics."

Flash is definitely surprised by this, "You read comics? Really? I thought you were all-serie-o-so, reading only, serious stuff, which for me are highly overrated anyway."

John nods, "Well, I do read some pretty intense and serious comics, but I do read some of the more funny and light-hearted ones too. I read comics as a kid, and still pick some up once in a while. Reminds me of happier days I guess."

Flash smirks, "I always thought you had a chink in your serious armor."

"Your turn."

Flash gives a little smile, "I like going to church."

"Really," says John, "I would have thought you'd find church boring."

"Well, that depends," replies Flash, "Yea, it can be boring, especially with long sermons and long, old-fashion hymns, not that I don't like them, I just prefer more contemporary praise and worship songs, you know? I actually enjoy going to children's church and youth-lead evening services. Much easier to understand. I enjoy going to prayer meetings too. As Jesus said, 'two or three gathered together in my name, I am with them.' Was that in Matthew or Mark? I need to pay more attention to which is where in the Bible."

John is pleasantly surprised, and impressed, indeed. Then it's his turn again, "My favorite movie is "Old Yeller."

"What?" says an amused Flash, "Did you say "Old Yeller"?

"Guilty."

Flash giggles, "I never would have guessed that, and I'm a Disney movie freak!"

"I know," replies John, "So, what's your favorite movie."

Wally almost feels embarrassed to say it, "Bambi."

"Bambi?"

"Yea," Flash's voice sounds a little bashful, "it's fun, but it still makes me cry every time. I can't stand the thought of deer hunting to this day. I respect it and all, but I always think of Bambi's mother."

Flash then adds that he actually likes chick flicks such as Steel Magnolias, Momma Mia, and Burlesque, courtesy of his mother and Grammy always watching them. "I tell everybody that, but I actually love them. Thanks Mom."

"Nothing wrong with that," says John, "I kind of like a few chick flicks myself."

With Flash mentioning his mom and Grammy, John decides to ask the speedster the question he swore he'd never ask him.

"Flash, what's your real name?" Flash looks shocked by the questioned, "It's ok. You don't have to tell me if you don't want too. Sorry."

Flash gives a thoughtful look, "It's not that John. I mean, I do trust you, I really do. It's just that, well, I need my family's permission to tell you. I kind of wasn't too careful about who I trusted my identity with when I first started, and I nearly put my family in jeopardy and a cousin almost got hurt. I promised my family that I'd never tell anyone my identity without they're approval, from each and every member who knows my identity as the Flash. I haven't gotten anybody's permission to tell you yet."

 _WOW,_ thinks John. Flash really is much deeper then he thought.

"I won't ask again."

Flash looks at John, who feels like a brother to him. He knows he shouldn't without permission, and he'll be in big trouble, but….

"Wally. My name's Wally West."

Later, the duo are both asleep when a loud thunk awakens John. Deciding to investigate, he hears voices, angry voices near the pantry hole. John knows what this means. He vigorously tries to shake Flash awake.

"Flash, Flash wake up." Flash pulls the cover over his head.

"Wally, wake up!"

"What?" yawns Wally, "I want to sleep, or eat."

"Wally, we've got to leave, now."

Just then, two angry men appear with clubs and lanterns. They don't bother to speak, they just attack. John throws himself on top of Flash, but is jerked off. One man then jumps John and they struggle. Flash has no strength what so ever to get up. He gets stepped-on and kicked in the stomach. As Flash is about to be attacked, John jumps the man and manages to nab his club away from him.

"FLASH, get away from here. I'll hold these two off."

"No, I can't…"

"Get away! NOW!"

Wally attempts to get up on his hands and knees to crawl, but fails. He tries to scoot, but he's already worn out, and he just can't leave his pal behind. He watches the two mad men gang up on his teammate. He must do something, but what? Wally West has never felt so helpless in his life.

Wally then feels some rocks next to him. Grabbing a tennis ball-sized one, he struggles to muster up any among of strength he can, just managing to push himself up enough to throw the rock. It hits the back of one of the men, and Flash collapses. However, the man is distracted long enough for John to jump him and colloid him with the other attacker, both of them hitting the cave wall hard.

The collusion is hard enough to cause a cave in. John quickly picks up Flash and one of the lanterns and goes deeper into the cave, finding a chamber just big enough for them to get into. The cave-in blocks the entrance to that smaller chamber, trapping them both.


	12. Into the Cave

**I know it's been a long time. Here's at too long last, an update.**

 **Chapter 12- Into the Cave**

John holds up the lantern he grabbed to discovery that they are almost completely sealed in, but the wall seems thin enough to attempt to dig through. He turns the lantern towards Flash, who seems to be passed out. John goes over to him and tries to wake him.

"Flash, Flash, are you awake buddy? Please don't be unconscious again?" John then uses his name; "Wally, wake up!"

This time, Wally responds, slowly opening his eyes; "Ouch my head;" he tries to lift up his head, but feels dizzy and lays back down; "Oh, I'm so famished, weak, and helpless. When is this going to end?"

"Don't worry Wally," says John; "I think I can get us out of here, but it may take awhile. Can you can hang on for a little while longer?"

Wally's ears pierce at the sound of his name. Did he just hear John right; "I think so. GL, how do you know my name's Wally?"

"You told me earlier, remember?"

Wally nods; "Oh yea. I forgot. I can't think and I can't keep my memories straight. I'm so confused. Ohh."

Wally feels excruciating pain from his stomach, unlike any pain his ever felt before. It hurts so much he's having a hard time breathing and his face is contorted with pain. The growls are so load that it seems like the cave is shaking. John rubs Wally's stomach for him, but it does little to ease the pain.

"I'll get us out of here. I think I can dig through the rocks. Just breathe and relax, Wally."

 _Wally._ It sure sounds strange to be calling the Flash by an actual name.

"I'll try," Wally tries his best to breathe through the hunger pangs; "What do you mean dig us out? Where are we?"

John gives a brief summary of what just happened. He also tells Wally that he'll take him to Chunk's boat when they get out. At the mention of that, Wally feels something lingering in the back of his mind. Something important, but he can't bring himself to think about what it is. All he can think of is food.

John lays Wally down and starts to examine the blocked entrance. He needs to find the safest possible spot to dig. While he feels around and examines, Wally tries to drift back to sleep, but his stomach keeps him awake. That may be a good thing right now. If Wally drifts off again, he may slip back into a coma.

Wally's mind is occupied by buffet and desserts table. His mouth is drooling at the images. Still, something keeps trying to break through the images of food. "What is it?" he mumbles aloud, "What is this thing I'm trying remember?"

"What was that Wally?"

"Nothing;" replies Wally, his stomach furiously roaring again; "Ohhhhh. Sorry."

"Don't be sorry, buddy." John continues carefully tugging on some rocks. Able to successfully move a couple, he finds that a few of the jars have rolled back there. They have some cracks, but not too badly. He feeds them to Wally, hoping it might provide the slightest bit of relief for his suffering comrade.

It is when Wally finished the last possible drop that the something comes into his mind. This time, it isn't about food; "Maria."

"What?" asks John; "What about Maria?"

Wally thinks a few more seconds; "Something. She said something about a cave or something leading to Chunk's boat."

"What?"

"She said there was a tunnel or cave or something that went underneath Chunk's boat. Could this be it?"

John thinks Wally's delirious, "It's alright hotshot. Just take it easy and don't think." That's something John never thought he'd ever say, telling somebody, especially the Flash, not to think.

"You don't believe me," tears form in Wally's eyes, "Maria told me. She heard people talking about it. She's never found it, but what if this could be the cave. It could be."

Wally's voice gets weaker the more he talks. John is still skeptical; "Wally, I really don't think…."

"For once in your life John Stewart, please listen to me! I know my brain's not working to well. Well, it dose has some lose screws in it, but for once I know what I'm talking about. We should try to see if this is the cave. We should."

That was quite an effort on Wally's part, and he collapses after that. John doesn't know what to think. He wants to believe Wally. Going deeper into the cave when he can probably find the way out through here. They could get lost and may never find their way back.

"I believe it's worth the risks;" Wally says in a very weak voice, as if he was reading John's mind; "Please GL, can we just go a little bit further, please? Pretty please."

John's still not so sure; "Well…"

"Please, let's try it my way just this once. I'd rather starve to death trying then not try at all. You wouldn't deny your starving friend his last possible wish, would you?"

Boy dose the Flash really know how to get under John's skin, even at his weakest. But finally, John relents; "Ok, we'll go." He still thinks this is a waste of desperate precious time, especially with Wally on the verge of near death. They will go only a little further into the cave, but that's it. There's no possible way they could get to Chunk's boat from underground like this, even if there was a tunnel leading directly underneath it.

Or is there? It was possible, on the scarcest outside chance, John could be wrong this time. Well, he was wrong about the scarlet speedster before. He picks up Wally bridal style, the lantern around his arm, and goes deeper into the cave. This passage way is very narrow, barely enough room for the both of them to squeeze. At one point, the passage is so narrow that John puts Wally down, barely manages to squeeze through, then grabs Wally by the feet and drags him though. Wally's so thin now that he has no trouble getting fitting.

John thinks they've gone far enough into the cave and just as he's about to turn back, he hears something. It sounds like water. He turns down another corridor and finds what looks like an underground pond. John longs to feel water on his skin again, and he's sure Wally does too, who's had no sort of bath what so ever in 5 days. If there's one thing John Stewart and Wally West really do have in common outside the League, they both love to stay clean.

In fact, Wally loves showers so much, especially after a hard day of hero escapades, that he purposely takes long, normal speed showers, usually longer than any of his teammates. This leaves the other leaguers in disbelief, and irritated, as well as frequent lectures about conserving water on the Watchtower as the water is brought up from Earth.

Wally had nearly fallen asleep when he feels something cool around his body. It feels so good. It feels refreshing. Feels wet! Is he in a bathtub?

"GL, is this water?"

"Yes Wally. How does it feel?"

Wally turns his face to the right and feels the water on his cheek, then his lips, realizing he's thirsty. He tags some large gulps.

"Careful hotshot;" warns John, turning his head back upward; "don't need to drown yourself."

"Sorry;" replies Wally; "It feels so good. Taste good too. Can I have my next meal here?"

"I wish." They wade in the water a few more minutes. John really doesn't want to get out, but he knows they must. As he lifts himself out of the water, he hears Wally's stomach again, so load it seems as if the cave is shaking. He hears another rumble, but this time it's not Wally's stomach. The cave is shaking for real this time. This is same kinds of shaking that accompanied Chunk before. John scoops up Wally and starts back the direction they came, but then something starts pulling them back the other way. John tries, but the pull gets stronger and stronger. Wally's so dazed that he doesn't know what's going on. He just thinks he's dreaming.

They get turn around. Wally's so lite that the force easily pulls him out of John's arms. John tries with all his might, beyond his might, to grab Wally's hand. The force pulls Wally further and further away from him.

"WALLY!" was the last word John got out before all goes blank.

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When John comes to, they are no longer in the cave, but inside a strange room. Wally's lying next to him. He tries to wake him up, but Wally's completely unconscious. He's barely breathing and his heart-beat is so slow, and fading further.

"Flash! Wally, NO! Please wake up!"

John just barely hears the "POP", and looks over to find staring at them no other than the Chunk.

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Back on Earth, Batman once again contacts Professor Ray Palmer, an expert Physicist at Boston University, demanding answers. Ray (who also has a costumed identity of the Atom) answers as patiently as he can, telling Batman that there may be a chance to locate the right dimension, but he needed more time to study the Chunk's machine's physics to get it right.

"Hurry up!" demands Batman; "people are worried and I have a feeling we don't have much time left."

 **Reviews appreciated!**


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